The Selection
by Thegirlontheedge
Summary: Teresa always found it hard being a Gregory, well half a Gregory. Her mother's affair had started her sorrow filled life as a two, forgotten, and left a lone to her own devices Teresa Gregory tries to make the best after an officer comes to her house with two letters, one for her, and one for her secretly engaged adopted sister that was meant to replace her. To be or not to be...
1. Chapter 1

It wasn't unusual living as a Gregory. It was honestly just annoying, living as one of them. I didn't marry or get adopted into the Gregory house hold. I was unfortunately born into it. Being a Gregory meant that you sometimes went without things such as love, attention, food,and punishment. The last one was a favorite of my brothers Tom and Elias. They were always sneeking off into some dark alley with the cheapest girl they could get their hands on, my parents were and still are oblivious to the fact, their back has been turned because of my sisters wedding. I guess you could say being the baby of the family had its perks of all the unloving attention, not that I didn't deserve it, and it came with the wonderful Gregory life. "Miss. Teresa Gregory!" My brother Tom announced his arms out wide as he descended the stair case. A smile on his face most likely caused by some successful back allying. I assumed Elias was still sleeping in whatever dingy hotel they had found. "Good morning brother." I mumbled not lifting my face to look at his condescending green eyes. Another Gregory trait I had seemed to go without, due to my mothers brief affair with the butler to the Hemway's down the street. " It is isn't it?" He asked as he fell down into the chair beneath him. A scream pierced the house and Camille ran out her blond hair held up by pins, the robe she was wearing clung to her skin. Unlike me Camille was adopted, which meant my brother looked longingly at the sliver of skin that showed as she raced threw the room. I felt myself getting sick as my brother excused himself and chased after her.

Even with the fact that Camille had been adopted into the Gregory family she still had those piercing green eyes that the rest of them had. Tom, my mother, Camille, and a very angry hunger over version of father stocked into the room, each with those burning eye's fixed on my soft gray ones.

"Look what she did!" Camille whined as she waved her nearly perfect hair in front of everyone. Tom looked like he was about to faint. I say her hair is nearly perfect because I had dyed a strip of it a very ugly green, I couldn't help but smile at myself. I pulled the book closer to my face as if I was engrossed in it's presence.

"I think it looks nice." I mumbled after I could keep myself from laughing. Camille hands went into the air, her robe fell open, and Tom feel to the floor with a thump. Mother quickly tied Camille back up, looking at me like I had done that to her and then gave my brother sleeping pills to make him pass out on the floor. I couldn't stop laughing as the lead Gregory attempted to pick up Tom but only dropped him again, when a knock came at the door. That knock silenced everything.

It wasn't long until you could hear my mothers screams as she danced around the house, holding the letter to her chest in a celebration of both Camille's and my age. We are two's I have never understood why my mother had always acted like it was worse than the sixes. Camille, Tom, and Elias were not as kind to the lower caste's as I was. That's if I could ever be nice. I had often been scolded for giving my money to the maids and the servants because I couldn't see them lose anymore weight they had already looked like corpses. Camille had gone into yelling horrible things to her maids, we had to get male servants to clean out Tom's room because Tom has become, how to say this nicely? One seriously messed up jerk face. Elias doesn't do anything really bad, he doesn't actually know what he is doing, he just follows what Tom does, I should explain. Elias is slow. I had at first expected to see some five knocking on the door holding a baby to hand off to Tom because of his lousyness, but when it turned out it was an officer I had never been more afraid in my life. I had thought they found out about my helping the eights, and finding the empty houses to stay but instead, he introduced two envelopes and winked at Camille. Even though Camille was getting married it wasn't official, so that When he arrived there was one letter for her, and one for me.

The Gregory family was extremely happy, I on the other hand was dreading it. My mother had handed both Camille and I pencils and the form, I was forced to complete the form. My father kept his hand on my back as I field it out, he had no problem correcting any mistake, I only had one, I didn't put Gregory at the end of my name. It wasn't long until Camille had her fiance at the house, telling him that the relationship had to remain a secret. Tom had gone off back to his dark hole of a room, Mother and Father had started fighting in the library, I had finished my book and placed it face down on the table, Elias wasn't home yet and I was starting to get a bit worried. Their was a pitter patter against the windows told me it had started to rain. I grabbed rain boots and put on the rain coat I had been given from a six. I had told her to keep it but she said she had grown out of it, I didn't believe her so I had showed up the next day with an entire set for the family, the next day I saw their son out in the square his head stuck inside the wooded gate as they struck his back with a whip for stealing food, all he had to do was ask.

The door closed behind me, I had given up helping people a week ago. No one had listened to me anyways, my home life was leaking into the real one. I opened up the umbrella as a couple quickly walked across the street and ducked into the house in front of mine. I hopped down the steps as I usually did, my feet making huge splashes in the puddles.

The sky was a dark gray, the streets were soggy, and my boot had somehow gotten a hole in it. I could barely see the sign to the only hotel in the southern province, I heard a muffled crying and the slap of a whip against skin. I turned my head to look away as I passed the square and opened the hotel door, I was hit with the immediate smell of smoke.

"Can I help you?" Came a voice from behind what I guessed was a desk, I couldn't see really well behind the cloud of smoke, I coughed.

"I'm looking for a guy, his name is Elias Gregory." I said as I pulled at my gloves, I heard a sigh.

"I'm sorry I can't help you." Came the voice again, I walked out of the cloud which took an extremely long amount of time.

"I'm his sister, if you could just tell me what ro..." I was cut off with another sigh as I started to make out a face.

"You're brother was caught with a _lady_, he's in the square." I felt my legs move before I could registure anything.

I must have looked weird as I ran out and into the square one glove on, my coat halfway open and my brown unapeasing hair falling from a pony tail half of it in my face the other in different stages of Collin apart, just like I was.

"STOP!" I screamed as I entered the square, only two people turned and looked at me, Elias and some blonde guy that stood beside the officer who raised his arm in the air and then cracked it down against my brother. It wasn't long till I was standing in between them, the smell of smoke heavily in the air, a honking of in the distance, the steady glow of the square lights, and the overly whelming sense that my mother was looking at me with a scowl on her face. My hand was held out and I stared beside the officers head looking at the gray building behind him because I couldn't stand to look at the person who found it okay to harm my brother.

"You have to stop..." I started and then was interrupted by the officers voice.

"Move or I will hit you." I froze unknowing what to do. I could hear the fives and sixes laughing at us. A couple of rich two's being publicly flogged, because Elias had to be exactly like Tom.

"You can't hurt him, please! He's special he is just trying to be like." I bit back my words, the officer looked appeased. A smile showed on his face and his arm lowered the blonde haired guy looked disgusted.

"Trying to be like who?" The officer asked, I couldn't help it anymore. I emptied the contents of my stomach onto the officer, the blonde guy laughed. Something struck my face and left a pain that I had never imagined. He had brought the whip down on my face. I brought my hand to my face and stared at the officer in disbelief. He raised his arm again and the blonde guy grabbed his arm.

"That's enough." He said and the officer turned around.

"But your..." He started and the blonde boy scowled.

"She vomited on me!"

"It was very amusing, I thank you for your entertainment." The blonde boy bowed. I nodded my head.

"Unlock him and give them money for medical treatment." He said as he took the whip out of his hand. My head was knocked back words, and my nose started bleeding profoundly. The officer had hit me. The blonde boy whispered into the officers ear and the officer smiled and the unlocked my brother, he bowed handed us a pouch full of money and walked away.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience." The blonde boy bowed and then turned and walked off after the officer. I turned and slapped my brother, he broke down crying in my arms.

"Are you ever going to do this again?" I asked him patting down his hair. He attempted to say yes, but his disability made it nearly impossible for him to speak. It took awhile before I could get him to the hospital, it was already full because of the recent rebel attack.

"Whipping." I said as one of the nurses walked past me. She turned and noticed my brother and then took him off my shoulders.

"I'll send someone for you?" She said as she walked off.

"I don't need to be..." She was to far away to here my. Someone came by and took my brother from her. I didn't feel safe leaving him alone. I was going to give Tom hell when I got home. I felt someone's hand on my shoulder and took it off as I turned around.

"I'm here to look at your face." The lady in the lab coat said.

"Okay, but I don't really need any help." I said and she frowned.

"How old are you?" She asked.

"I'm 18." I said and she hardentpd her frown.

"You're not going to want a scar, if you get selected for the selection." She said taking my hand and leading me away.

I was surrounded by a sheet of pure white, the lady had put something on my face, it felt numb, and she cleaned up the blood from my nose.

"There shouldn't be any scars if you change the bandage daily." She said handing me a box. I assume it is the bandages. I handed her money from my pocket and she smiled and pocketed it. I heard crying and knew it was Elias. He was wondering around looking for me. His back had been bandaged bphe had only been struck a few amount of times. He never stopped crying the whole way home, I opened the door stooped by the face of my mother as her hand touched my bandage.

"WHAT THE..." I stopped her before she could say anything else.

"Tom." I said and my mothers face fell.

"Don't blame this on Tom! What did you do to Elias?". I will never be a true Gregory.

"Mom! I did nothing! I went looking for Elias and I found him in the square!" I stammered as she finally let us in.

"Tom...ttttt...Too..." Elias started but I kissed his forehead and sent him off to his room, my mothers face felling with falce sorrow.

"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO IF YOU ARE SELECTED?" She screams as soon as Elias is out of sight.

"I..."


	2. Chapter 2

If you are ever thinking of becoming a Gregory, I would suggest that you should think otherwise. Neither of my brothers are very suitable husbands. My mother has taken the bandage off my face for the picture, I once again unlike the Gregory's has never had the privilege of getting my photo taken. You must imagine my surprise when someone said cheese and I nearly fell off my chair from the blinding light that flashed in my eyes. Since I am not a true full blooded Gregory I was never invited to any of the parties, or photoshoots, or anything that actually involved other people that were friends with the Gregory's. They had to retake my photo ten times, until they gave up and choose the one where I as they said looked beautifully surprised. Camille just looked like a vampire temptress, if this isn't as random as everyone thinks I believe the prince will choose her. The lash from where the whip had hit my face is now just a pink bump running from my ear to my jaw, Elias still hasn't left his room.

"No doubt that you will be selected Camille, this isn't as random as every one believes." My mother said as she laced her hands together and folded them on her lap. Camille took a sip of her tea and set it back down on the table, I brought my book closer to my face.

"I agree with you mother, I am the obvious choice." She said. It never failed to astound me with how much my family believed they were better than each other. Surely one day they would wake up with the house burning down by the rebels, and they would realize how ordinary they are. What a shame it is to believe you are more than a person.

"I would be surprised if he choose anyone other. You are the most beautiful girl in all Illea, it would be a shame for him to end up with someone like Teresa." I don't bother replying, I've been invisible this whole time, why pretend I'm not now. I can't say I don't feel the tear falling down the right side of my face as my mother continues on the conversation about how much better Camille is than me.

I've never understood this either. Camille isn't even half their blood, I am half of the Gregory bloodline, why do they favor her more than me? Oh I have forgotten, I look nothing like the pale blond, green eyed, fair skinned, skinny Gregory's. I look like my father, not in the manly way, I just have his hair and eye's, and I hope his personality. I don't know what I would do if I was born out of a full on snob family like the Gregory's. If I am selected, which now sounds like the moon would have to be replaced by some block of cheese before I can be choose, but if I am selected for the selection, I will leave and never, ever come back to the Gregory house hold. Even if I don't become a one, I would much rather be an eight than a Gregory.

"Teresa!" I hear my mother out of nowhere and am pulled out of my relentless thoughts.

"Yes mother?" I ask as I sit up straighter and hold my head up.

"Food! How do you expect the future queen of Illea to eat if you are not making the food?" My mother asks and my sister taps her stomach as if she if starving. I don't give her any back talk, our cook recently had her baby, and my mother let her go because she couldn't stand another mother inside the house, simply because she believed that she was profoundly better at it. I swear one day their egos will explode and I will be stuck cleaning up the mess.

As usual I make them their snack of cucumber sandwiches. And serve it to them on their tiny little China plates. I am dismissed as they turn on the television and call in the rest of the family so they can watch the report.

My room isn't that far from the back if the house, it is thankfully next to the library. I have started to believe it is just a closet sized extension of the library because I have started this habit of adopting stray books, hopefully I can save the characters better than I can save real, tangible, people.

The next days go by like this. Help the family, clean the rooms, make food, go to my room, read a book, settle Camille into bed, go to my parents room, settle my mother into bed, go to Elias clean his wounds, sing to him, hit Tom in the face, get sent to my quarters, fall asleep. I feel like a six labeled as a two, but what am I kidding I could never be a six, my mother would die before I ruined her name anymore than I already have.

I have this sickly feeling as my mother invites me to watch the report tonight. Today is the day we see who has been selected. Camille sits next to Tom on the couch. I have never seen Tom more entertained by the sight of her low cut v-neck dress, I can't help but laugh as she allows it. Camille hasn't been with us more than a year. Mother hushes everyone as the king stands to speak, there was another rebel attack, the castle is fine, he talks for minutes on end about the money problems and the increase in illegal activity in our province. My mother sighs as he sits down and Garvil stands a microphone in hand as he walks to the middle of the stage.

"This is the event the Illea has been waiting for. I'm sure you're all twisting you fingers into delicate little knots as I speak. As we all know The Selection is a one of a lifetime thing here. 35 girls are selected and they all fight for the princes hand." I can't help but look away from the screen, sick with it all. It's like a less lethal from of the book The Hunger Games.

"I will proudly announce you all these 35 girls that only the king and I have seen." I can't help but feel a pain of sadness, the poor prince has no clue who his future queen will be.

"Riley Lakewater a three.". He say's and a photo of a cheeriy blond with stunning blue eye's takes over the screen. In the corner we can see the prince's reactions but I don't dare look, I don't want to be sick.

"Amelia Screnio a six". A girl with dark brown eye's and jet black hair, she is very beautiful, but she looks very sad, I can't help but hope she wins. Tom gasps.

"If she doesn't win, she is going to be my wife." Tom say's and I hear myself gag.

"Marie Hopkins a two." I don't think I've ever seen anyone look more like a goddess than her, with long golden hair and soft hazel eyes. My brother doesn't restate his previous state meant because he knows that she would never lower her standers to him.

"Thalia longbottom" I have to repress my laugh. Yet again another beautiful girl shows up on the screen.

"A two."

"Hanna Utioa a five.". She looks like Camille and I can hear her huff.

"Teresa Gregory a two." I faint.


	3. Chapter 3

At first I had thought it was a joke. And then it was as real as a slap in the face, because it was. My mother could not help it. It was a shock to us all. My face stilled burned when my father had clicked the tele off. Camille was tucked crying into Tom's arm's, I have never been more disgusted with my brother.

"How could you do this to your sister?" My mother asked her tone very sharp.

"As if I had a choice mother!" I say my hands balled into fist I could hear the crinkle of paper beneath my fingers and I quickly closed the book I had held.

"You didn't have to sign the papers!" My mother shouted at me, my father grabbing her arm before it fell upon my face again. He bent down and whispered into her ear. She smiled and walked out of the room. My father took Camille from Tom and walked her back to her room, I could hear my father talking to Camille's fiancé, telling to come over here quick. And then the door closed leaving Tom and I, alone.

"I can't believe you." Tom said as he stood up, putting a hand into his hair.

"How could you be so cruel to Camille?" His voice was rising, I stood there unaware of what to say. Tom took a step towards me.

"All I did was take a picture!" I stammered back at him my foot landing harshly against the carpet.

"I didn't even want to!" I snapped, and then a smile played across Tom's face. One of those gut wrenching smiles that he always had before something terrible happened. And something terrible did happen.

It took no less than a second for him to wrap his long fingers around my wrist, and pull me against him. I couldn't help but feel disgusted.

"You know Teresa, you are not my sister." He said next to the crook of my neck, I had never felt more disgusted and exposed in my life. I struggled to pull my hand from his grasp but it didn't budge. One second I was facing and the next I wasn't.

"Not fully, any way." He whispered his mouth tangled in my hair, and at that moment I did what any respectable girl would do. I kicked him. The second his hand loosened on mine I pulled it away, and then gracefully spit at him. Their was a shuddering sound of feet descending the stairs as my father opened the stairway door, with Elias and a bag of his things. My mother took a minute or two before she arrived.

"This is what happens when you disobey your parents." My father said as he pushed Elias towards the floor, Tom was still crying on the floor. My mother looked at me her face red. She threw a bag at me and I caught it. Elias had started crying in my arms.

" You and your brother must leave! Neither of you are a help to the family! And I can't have you bringing shame to the family." She said rather harshly. I patted Elias head and pleaded with them to let Elias stay, but they didn't budge they just pushed us out the door, the hairs rain falling onto his shredded back.

"Come on Elias." I said as I pulled on his coat to get him walking.

"I know a place where you can stay.". I knew I would regret this.

The streets were extremely muddy and so e of the windows around the city were smashed due to the recent rebel attack, all I could do is hope he was still there. The house looked smaller than it did the first time I had been there, but then again I was only six when my mother had took me here. I knocked on the red door, the sound that came away sounded rotten and old. The door screeched on it's hinges and I saw him.

I saw my father.

"Hello, can I..."

"Dad?" I asked as he turned his head to see me, he had the same gray eye's as me, his were just a little softer.

"Teresa, come in." He said as he ushers Elias and I inside. The door closed and I was stuck inside a living room, his wife looked up at me over her swollen belly as she sat up from the couch, a child ran towards us.

"Who is it? Who is it?" She repeated over and over again. I looked towards my dad's wife, and received nothing but a cold glare from her. No matter what happened, she thought I was a Gregory.

"What happened?" He said after shushing the child.

"My mother, she, she kicked us out." I said as I shifted under the weight of Elias, his wounds had not healed, he had to lean on me to walk.

"You can stay here if you like." His wife said as she walked toward us.

"I won't be staying. I just need a place for Elias." I said, his wife's face had softened, she looked at me with a pained look. I realized her had had became a fist against her stomach. I looked from her hand to my dad, and then back.

"Please sit honey, please you shouldn't be walking. You as well Elias, please." My father said and he walked us all into the living area. I sat a crossed from them, Elias's head was still on my shoulder, he had stopped crying.

"Why aren't you staying?" My father asked after his wife had settled. His jaw had now grown a beard and he looked older more sophisticated.

"I was selected for The Selection." I said and his mouth formed an O.

"You don't have to feed him, he can cook, and find work once he is healed. And I'll send you my checks, just please let him stay here." Elias started crying again. He tried to talk but it just came out in moans.

"Of coarse, and congratulations." His wife said, I nodded my head and thanked her.

"For the time being though you can stay here as well." My father said rubbing his hand on his wife stomach, her face became less tight and she smiled.

"I will get Matthew to give you his room." She said and then called out his name. A few minutes later, he appeared.

" Yes mother?" He asked, he wasn't much older than me, he looked young, but his eyes held something old. Like he had lived a thousand years and suffered horrible things. He came and then stopped a few feet from me.

"Teresa?" He said his head slightly tilted to the side. He was Camille's servant, he and I had the common dispute about her. As all men his age, he was hopelessly in love with her.

"Matthew, she is going to require your room." His mother said. I couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Is Camille okay?" He asked. I couldn't feel anymore sick without loosening the contents of my stomach.

"Yes." I said trying to hold back all the negative feelings I had towards her, but they could see it in my eye's. After all the eyes can never lie. Matthew let's me take over his room, not that I have much. Just a light jacket, a burgundy scarf, blue jeans, four shirts, and my undergarments. The only book I have left is the one in my hand. I sat down on the bed I'm guessing it is made out of straw.

I couldn't bring myself to do anything else, so I fell asleep.

I was awoken by my nightmare. I could still feel Tom's clammy hands gripping my wrists as I tried to squirm away from him. I was sweating. The rising sun had left a pale orange glow against the far wall. It smelled lightly of smoke. For once in my life, I woke up and no one was yelling my name. I stood up and dressed myself in the blue jeans and a white T-shirt, and then I pulled on the jacket. My head snapped towards the door as it produced a soft sound.

Someone was knocking on it.

I don't think I have ever dreaded those two steps it took to cross the room, and open the door. There in the bedroom door frame stood the officer that had hit me. I swallowed back my spit, there was a lump in my throat.

"I need you to answer some questions, we just need more information before you can go." He said, a sneer on his face like he knew something I didn't.

*time gap, two weeks.*

The officer had come and gone at least once every day over the last two weeks, I was happy that this would be the last day he produced anyone new, to poke and prod me with questions. Today he brought a man, he called himself Thayer.

"Can we speak in private?" Thayer asked as he motion towards the six children and Elias sitting on the couch. My dad nodded his head yes as he walked us to my room. My Dad, Thayer and I adjusted ourselves around Matthew's desk.

"Mrs. Gregory, this is going to sound harsh but of last Friday, you are now considered property of Illea. You must take care of your body from here on out. I have several forms for you to sign as we go through this information, any failure to comply on your part will result in immediate removal from the selection. Do you understand?". I nodded my head yes.

"Let's start with the easy stuff, now since you are a six you will probably need vitamins." I thought I was a two, but I wasn't going to interject, and correct him. He rambled on about me having to take it by myself, until someone was able to help me at the palace, but who needs help taking a pill?

"I have me your physical from you doctor, it say's that you are in perfect condition, except for that lash against you face. We will have someone take care of it though." He said and then flipped over a paper. His face formed some thing funny like he was nervous to ask the next question.

"Now I know this is personal, but I've had to discuss it with every contestant so please don't be shy." He paused and took in a breath.

"I need confirmation that you, are in fact, a virgin.". I felt sick, very, very sick. The second he said the word, I could feel Tom looking at me smirking, at how he could have taken this away from me.

"Yes, I am." I said.

"Consider please if you are found to be..." I stopped him.

"Sir, I am not stupid I know the law, and I would never let that happen." I said and he nodded his head.

"I need you to sign this form confirming your statement." He said as he pushed the paper and pen towards me, I quickly scrawled my name wanting this to be over soon.

"Now I need to go over the rules with you. They are very straightforward and you shouldn't have a problem complying. If you have any questions just ask." He said and I nodded my head.

"You may not leave the palace on your own accord, you must be dismissed by the prince. Not even the king or queen can dismiss you. They can tell the prince they disapprove but they cannot force you out. There is no set time long for the selection, it may take weeks or years."

YEARS!?

"You do not arrange your times with the prince. He will reach out to you if he wants one-on-one time with you. If you are in a lager social setting that is different. But you do not go to him without being asked. While you are not expected to get along with the other 34 you are not to fight with them, or sabotage them. Your only romantic relationship shall be with the prince, if you are found writing love notes to someone here or are caught in a relationship with someone at the palace that is considered treason and is punishable by _ death. _If you are breaking any of Illea's written laws you will receive the punishment tied to the offense, your status as one of the selected does not put you above the law. You must not wear clothes that are not provided for you, you must not eat food that is not made for at the palace, this is a security issue an will be strictly enforced.". He took in air.

"On Fridays you will be expected to appear on the _report._ on occasion you will be warned there will be cameras and reporters at the palace. For each week you stay at the palace you will be compensated. I will give you your first check before I leave. Also should you not stay at the palace and aide will help you adjust to your life outside the palace.". He took in another breath.

"Should you make it to the top ten you shall be coma an elite, once you reach that status you will learn the inner workings and obligations of a queen. From now on you are considered a three. If you stay in the selection and become the princess you and your family will become ones." I nodded my head, taking in all this information was like being handed a apple and being told to make a cake.

"I need you to sign this form saying you have heard all the official rules and you agree to them. " I nodded my head and took the paper.

"Here is your check. I will send the Gregory's the later ones."

"No, the Gregory's are not my family. She may be my mother but THEY are not my family. Elias and the Anderling's are my family, the money will go to them." I say and he nods his head. Thayer collected all the forms and then had me escort him to the door. It took him an extraordinary amount of time to get to the door. His foot steps slowly falling one after another. I caught my breath as he pulled open the door and then turned to face me, his eyes told me he knew the inner workings of the Gergory house hold but I told myself, that now one knew.

"It would be smart if you didn't refuse the prince." Thayer said as he moved the door open further, rays of sun falling against the ground.

"What do you mean?" I asked but the implication was there. Give the prince whatever he wants. I felt sick, a small amount of bile rising up in my throat as he confirmed.

"If he ever wants to do anything, more than kiss, it would be wise not to say no." And then he was gone, in the flash of a blink. I slid down the wall holding on to my stomach.

I would never be able to leave behind the Gregory name.


	4. Chapter 4

I woke up the next morning before everyone else. The sun glowed a first orange but the window made it look blue against the ground, as if the sky had swallowed up the sun. I quietly got dressed, trying not to disrupt anyone one. The outfit for the selected was black slacks and a white button up shirt. On my desk there was a white tulip, the flower of our province. At least my fathers province, in which I was now considered. I pulled my hair up into a pony tail and then realized I had nothing to tie it back with. I let it fall loosely to my shoulders, this is the longest it has ever been.

"Beauty is only for the people that need to be seen." My mother had said to me as she shook her head in disgust. I couldn't shake the Gregory blood from me, it is something that if I could I would rip out of my body without a second glace. But the world is not a wish granting factory.

I as silently as I could made a break fest of eggs and toast for the family. Elias's back had started to heal, but we had to worry more about infection. My father had found a job for him once he will have gotten better, he will be able to sweep at one of the shops. I don't want to leave him alone. It's like he's the feather a knight uses against a sword.

"We'll have to drop you off, in an hour. I have work." I heard someone mumble as they walked over to the table.

"I'm sorry if I woke you." I said as I set the plate down in front of my dad.

"You didn't. Marlee is just having some troubles." He said as he wiped his hands on his pant legs and then grabbed the fork. He took a bite of the food and chewed on it slowly.

"I was just going to go by myself, there's no need for you to see me off." I said as I returned to the kitchen and fixed up another plate. Matthew sat down his hair still messy. I set the plate down in front of him.

I have never seen someone eat faster.

"You're my daughter, I may not agree with your mother on something's." He took a breath. His partake in my birth, wasn't necessarly his choice.

"But you are still my daughter and I want to say goodbye." He took in another bite. I heard that fast footprints as the younger children bolted down the hall, and started eating.

It felt bad for me to leave them. They were my new family and in these two weeks I had grown to love them, the only things keeping me back was the selection, and Elias. I had to feed him his food, and then say goodbye because he could not come with us.

Everything moved around me in a dizzying blurr as I stood up on the stage after saying goodbye. The mayor spoke something's and then wished us goodbye. I couldn't understand why he kept saying them. And then in the snap of a second, I had finally caught a sentence.

"We wish the best to BOTH our lovely girls. Let's hear it for Teresa AND Camille Gregory!". I had to lean my body into the side of the car door as I sat down. My blood felt like frozen sludge as She sat down next to me. Her blond hair up in a bun, with ringlets falling out yo give her that fallen angle sort of look.

"What are you doing here?" I asked her once I could form the words.

"Didn't you hear?" She asked her voice like fire against ice.

"Hanna Utiao died during a rebel attack, I have been choose to take her place." She said with a smile. My blood turned to ice. I could feel the little break fest I had rise into my stomach. _Rebel attack, of coarse._ I spent the rest of my time to the air port staring out the window. The forest that had once surrounded our province was now reduced to rubble. My skin burned with anger, but my blood couldn't boil, as if someone had put me in the freezer and then straight onto the frying pan.

"We are here." Camille said her voice with a sneer. I smiled at her as politely as I could, and followed her were the last on the pick up.

Aurora Belmont, a six, like me, I suppose, sat in the front of the plane. Her hair was a glossy brown, I couldn't help but think how much better it would look if it was a firey red. In the back of the plane was Cecily. She had long sleek black hair with piercing blue eye's that looked like that wanted to stab you. I hastily sat down next to Aurora.

"They scare me too." Aurora said as she looked up at me. Her eyes were green, but they held something soft, something that made all those bad memories of green eyes fade away. I felt like she was my mother and I was her child, and had this sudden urge of wanting to cry into her shoulder and have her tell me everything was okay.

But that was absurd, so I sat there.

"You have no clue, how much they scare me." I said as I looked over my shoulder. Camille and Cecily were deep in conversation, Camille tilted her head back and laughed.

"You're related to Camille right?" Aurora asked. I nodded my head.

"But you're a six." She said and I nodded my head.

"Actually neither of us are really Gregory's. She was adopted and I am the problem of my mothers affair." I said, it felt life a relief to say it to someone that wouldn't slap me the second it came out of my mouth.

"Your father is a six?" She asked and I nodded my head.

"Do you think you're going to win?" I asked changing the conversation.

"No." She whispered and then leaned in towards me, her hand cupped over her mouth.

"I'm staying for the food, while my boyfriend gets the nerve to finally ask me to marry him." She whispered and I turned towards her red faced.

"BOYFRIEND?" I mouthed the word, it felt so unfamiliar. She nodded her head.

"They could kill you!" I whispered.

"To love is to destroy, and to be loved is to be destroyed." She said sitting back into her chair her hand held over her heart.

"The Mortal Instruments." I said. She looked at me curiously.

"You've read them?" She asked her face looked as if she was in shock or disbelief, but her eyes told a story of happiness.

"I hated how City of Heavenly Fire ended." I said sitting back in my chair.

"The saddest happy ending ever." She smiled remembering the book. I could still feel its words burning at my eyes as I flipped the pages.

This is how the plane ride went. Aurora and I talked about books, as Cecily and Camille laughed and screamed. Aurora made me switch sides with her after the plane began to start up. I couldn't help but feel so small as the ground flew away from us. We are only prices inside there game.

I couldn't help but feel relief as the plane landed and we all got off. The steady floor beneath my feet, the cold glances that Camille shot me every time I turned her way. People screamed at us as we walked down the red carpeted path to the palace doors.

Once we were inside we were all rushed into different area as people took our pictures and then sent us away to other people. These people brushed over my body, and gave me a bath, rubbing lotions and scents into my skin. Once they were down, I smelled like Sage. It was one of the princes favorite smells. Another lady came up behind me and started messing with my hair.

"If only it was longer." She said and then shrugged.

"How do you want to look?" She said looking at my eyes through the mirror.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to look smart, sexy, lady like, victo..." I cut her off.

"I think I'm fine with how I am." I said and she swirl led me in the chair.

"That cut on you face. How'd you get it?" She asked her brown eye's seemed to burn into my soul.

"I was trying to help my brother." I said and she leaned back word.

"So you're the girl he has been talking about." She said bringing the tip of the hairbrush to her mouth.

"I know exactly what to do with you." And then she turned me around again.

Her hands moved in a blurr of motion, cut here, twirl there, dye here, snip, snip. Once I was finished my hair seemed like a lightly curled mess. It gave me age, and a look of wisdom, but at the same time I looked wild, and heroic, like a person that would jump in front of an officer to save someone. She smiled at her work in the mirror.

"Time to go get you dressed. Your maids are waiting for you in the main room." She said pointing the brush at a door way. I smile and stood, slowly walking out the door not wanting to leave the sight of the new me.

"THERE SHE IS!" I heard a somone say in an enthusiastic voice. There was a clicking of shoes against the tile as three ladies hopped towards me.

"You're more beautiful in real life!" The short one said.

"Hi I'm Teresa." I said extending my hand out to them. They laughed and pulled on my shoulders towards one of the dressing rooms.

"I'm Cat." The tall red headed one said. I smiled and curtised, she unwillingly did the same.

"That is Bonite." She pointed towards the short dark haired one.

"And that is Haylee." She said pointing at the tall one. They smiled at me, curtised, and went back to digging through dresses. They sighed as the pulled out a yellow floor length sun dress. At first I thought it was born of the sun and then tamed by the moon. Once they had gotten it on me, they had smiled and danced around. Happy of their work. I placed my hands on Bonite's shoulders and told her to calm down. I never thought someone that small could have so much energy.

I had finally gotten over the height of five foot seven in the three inch heels Cat had given me.

I onve again found myself in front of a camera. The only difference was this one didn't flash after someone said "cheese". But in the corner it blinked red.

"What do you plan on doing here at the palace?" The camera operator said and I snapped to attention.

"I plan on marrying the prince." I smiled, even though I had no clue who he was.

"Other than that." The Camera operator laughed.

"I plan on reading every single book, in the palace." I said looking down at my hands, empty of any literature.

"Wow, how did you like your makeover? You look stunning!" He said, and I smiled.

"It happened in the blink if an eye. One second I was Teresa Gregory and the next I was, well this." I said gesturing at my body.

"I don't think it could have happened with out my maids though. They made this dress!" I said overly excited and the operator looked at me as if it was common knowledge.

"Do you have anything to say to the public?" He asked and I stared into the blinking dot of the camera.

"To be or not to be." I smiled. The operator smiled and packed up the camera.

"That was smart there." He said as he lifted the camera bag over his shoulder.

"To be or not to be. To have a life set out in front of you, and look at it as if it is fiction or reality, because it can swing either way.". He smiled and walked off.

"Alright ladies! I am Amelia and I will be your tutor, but right now I will show you around the palace, now follow me.". Amelia shouted and then twirled her hands in the air. I saw a flash of red in the corner of my eye. No one has red hair here. I turned and saw Aurora, they thought the same thing I did.

She looked like a beached mermaid, I was jealous of her beauty. I walked over by her and bumped her in the shoulder. Frighten she jumped and put her hand over her heart.

"You scared me!" She said. I smiled.

"You look like a mermaid." I said and she smiled at me.

"They said I was to be the goddess of the sea. You look like a fierce ray of sunshine." She said noting my yellow dress.

"I'm going to take that as a compliment." I said and she laughed. We were now in the hallway. Amelia had finished the tour after giving us warnings and sent us to our rooms. I hadn't been paying attention.

It took me forever until I could find a familiar place but it still couldn't lead me to where I was going. I thought about asking for help but I didn't want the guards talking to the prince about how unintelligent I was, so I kept my mouth shut. I at least found the library. It smelled like heaven. If heaven could have a smell, I would think this is what it smelled like. Tree's and dust. There was a shifting and someone tapped my shoulder. I turned and faced the blond boy from the square.

"YOU!" I said as I reached my hand out to slap him.

"What are you doing here this..." I slapped him and he brought his hand to his face.

"I am the prince! How dare you slap me!" I fell backwards.

"I.. I'm sorry it's just that.. That you, you let that officer hurt my brother!" I said as I started to regain my balance.

"That officer caught him with my sister!" The prince stated back at me.

"HE DOESN'T KNOW WHAT HE'S DOING!" I had lost my temper.

"HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING IN THAT TYPE OF SITUATION?" Apperntly he had too.

"HE IS MENTALLY ILL HE WAS JUST FOLLOWING WHAT HIS BROTHER DID!" I shouted back and the prince seemed to collapse upon himself.

"Mentally ill!?" He questioned as he moved to sit along one of the tables.

"Yes." I sighed. He looked up at me is eyes filled with shame.

"I'm sorry I didn't know." He said.

"What have I done." He ran his hand through his hair and then as if he realized something he slammed his hand onto the table.

"What did you say?" He asked looking at me, a sudden look of anger on his face.

"Nothing." I felt scared but it was like there was a burning price of fire trying to escape.

"No, I know you said nothing. I mean about you brother trying to do what" he didn't know the end of the sentence.

"What his older brother Tom did." I clapped my hand to my mouth.

"Come with me." He said pulling at my wrist.

"MARUEEN! OH PRINCESS MARUEEN!" He yelled in the hallway. A door to the left opened and the princess appeared.

"Did you sleep with this girls brother?" He asked pushing my in front of him. She blushed, and denied it.

"Don't lie to me!" He said, and then looked at me, his eyes asking me to say his name, but I was afraid I would throw up.

"His name is Tom." I said, the bile rose in my throat. I felt a sudden wave of sadness as the princess searched her brain and then she remembered.

"Is he the one with, blond, blond hair an angelic green eyes?" She asked.

"He is far from angelic." I said and the princess turned and threw up as if she could read it in my eyes. The princes grip became soft on my wrist.

"You should arrest him." I said as I turned toward the prince, he looked at me and then pulled me against him in a hug.

"I'm sorry, I am so, so sorry." He said and I pushed him away.

"You could have stopped the officer." I said angerly. His eyes turned soft and he reached out to touch my face, to swipe a tear away from it.

"I'm not talking about that." He said.

Alarm bells went off inside my head.

He knew.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **

**ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED? ?**

Before The Selection my mother taught me one thing. Not that it has much importance anymore. Still that memory she **_gave,_** that secret that no one else knew, was something I had of her. Something that wasn't completely destroyed by the Gregory name. Standing outside the princess's room, with the prince staring into my eyes I knew what he knew.

We were both broken.

I spent all my time helping the lower caste because deep down inside I was one, he might not have been but it didn't stop him from being treated like one. I stood there yellow dress fanning out along the tile floor wrapped in the arms of Prince Daniel. He tried to hide it but scars have the problem of reveling themselves, under his collar laid a long jagged scar that had looked like it lived there since he was born.

"Lady Teresa!" I heard Amelia scream. The prince let go of me and looked away, as Amelia climbed up the stairs her dress held up by her hands to revel tiny red shoes, I couldn't help but think that it must be painful to wear them.

"You're not allowed to disturb the prince, or princess. The third floor is off limits!" she said her face turning red.

"I'm sorry, I was lost." I couldn't find anything else to say. Positive I would be kicked out just for slapping him.

"And you just wandered into the prince's arm then?" her face had turned the color of a tomato and she put hers hands into the arm to give a dramatic effect.

"She fell, and I simply caught her." The prince said as he stepped in front of me. The scar seemed so obvious now, but she looked so oblivious to it.

"If you will escort her to her room, please. I have matters that need tending to." He left. Leaving me in a fistful of wonder.

"Come along. I will have to tell the king about this. He will be very disappointed that you broke the rules." She waved her finger in my face as she turned and headed down the stairs again.

My room was on the far east wing, tucked into the corner. Camille, and Makayle were in the only other two rooms on my hall. My maids waited in the corner of my room as the "appeared" to be dusting but they were actually gossiping.

"Please don't clean I can do it myself." I said as I tapped Bonite's shoulder.

"Oh no, no Lady Teresa... It's my job, I clean and make your dresses, you look pretty!" she bounced and went back to work. She had an accent I couldn't place the name of where it came from.

"If you must." I sighed and then fell backwards onto the bed my arms spread out wide. I was grateful I didn't have to do any work.

I found myself asleep, my dreaming of an unimaginable word. It in the beginning was quite awkward, and reminded me of home, the tables dressed with pretty white flowers, the chairs had sheets draped a crossed them, food that made you full just by smelling it, waited for you on the table, along side the coffin. It was nothing unusual about it, normal pinewood box With a red X painted a crossed it.

Something seemed so eerie about it, like you were the one inside but had to sit amount the living, so the attention wasn't only on you. It felt like my death would be my life, nothing but everything. No one let us look into the coffin until after the dinner had been eaten, and everyone had their fill of food. Nothing had ed d more real inside a dream. The glossy eyes, shimmering white teeth, cold gray eyes staring into the world that had once awaited her. Had once awaited me. I had looked very pretty laying inside a dark green ball gown that poproofed at the bottom, my hands wrapped in a cruel shining sliver metal.

I couldn't help but scream, and scream, and scream. It wasn't as if I had seen myself so far gone before, it was the way that this time, I didn't accept it. I found my reason to live, I found reasons.

I'm not truly broken.

I can still be fixed.

Prince Daniel has 35 girls to choose from. Which one will be his next wife? His next quarry? Will I have the chance to see my family without bringing shame to them? I stood up and pulled the green robe crossed my back as I opened the door hearing a soft click as it unlocked itself from the door. The hallway was poorly lit, you could hardly see two feet in front of yourself. But the fire that played against the wall from the lamp lights that dance feebly against the walls had a distracting purple glow to them. Sometimes there was a table between two pictures with flowers set upon them. The stairs on the other hand were the most horrifying things in the world. I had nearly tripped down them more times that I could count to one in a second. None of the guards stopped me. It might have been the fact Ilooked like a sleep walking teenage girl or a zzombie overdosed on reality pills, still no one talked to me. Not until I reached the library doors. Not everyone can go without a good book. The library didn't look the same, books were still lined up along the walls, their spines creating some color that was needed. Someone was sitting inside a red chair behind a desk, scribbling angrily as his hand flew across the page. He looked up once he heard the door close but I continued on my walk towards the books. Only was it until I walked into the wall did I realize, this is not the library, but an office.

The king had no problem smiling his perfectly whites teeth at me as I rubbed my head.

"Which Gregory are you?" He asked as he looked back down at his paper. The Kibg's hair was strangely long and pulled back into a pony tail, his jaw covered in a thin layer of fuzz. The king did not look like the kind of guy that hit his son. He looked fatherly and caring, but his eyes were cold.

"Teresa." I whined as I sat myself in the chair opposite of him. His grin widened and it started to look sick.

"You're the half blood." He said licking his lips. A shiver ran down my spine, his voice had calmed to a still lake front, but his eyes were tossing you around in a failing ocean as the water tossed you on rock after rock.

"Why do you keep trying?" He said setting the pen down on the paper.

"Why do you try so hard to be a person?"

"Why do you keep breathing, if you know you are going to die?. I said as I stood up, the king mirroring my motions. But as I walked towards the door he walked towards me, reaching out for my wrist but I pulled it away till he had gotten a better grasp of it.

"I wouldn't worry about the prince." He chuckled into my ear.

"You'll be staying here for quite sometime. Darling." His smile was wicked, and I had a sudden AH-HA moment.

I don't need to worry about the prince.

Just the king.


	6. Chapter 6

** A/N: **

** Thank you all who have reviewed. It means a **

Life isn't something that can be controlled. It is something that twists and turns and hurts you. It hurts everyone and everything in its wake. I never understood why people often thought of darkness when they thought of death, I've never heard of a dark heaven. The king had escorted me back to my room. I was lucky Cat had been waiting for me inside.

"Lady Teresa!" She said. The king looked over my shoulder and frowned at the sight of my maid.

"Stay away from my son." His voice was like gravel. The King turned away his coat flying behind him.

"That was The King." Cat stayed and I nodded my head.

"No one likes him." Cat said and sat down inside the chair beside my bed. I layer back down and rested into the fetal position.

"I just want to sleep." I said and tucked my nose under my arm. She nodded her head. I felt sick, worse than I had ever before I was Lady Teresa Gregory, when I was just Teresa Gregory. My blood felt like ice inside my veins, it moved along so slowly, I feared that I would wake up and my body would be purple due to blood loss. I closed my eyes and Cat sighed. She was bored.

"Hey Cat." I said and she shifted in her seat.

"Yeah."

"Can you stay here?" My voice was tiny, so so tiny.

"It's my job too."

"Don't let him in here." I said. She agreed and then I fell back asleep.

I didn't wake up until all of my maids had gathered in my room. The curtains were closed no light was inside the room. The maids were gossiping, and fighting about what dress I should wear to meet the prince in.

"Black!"

"Yellow"

"She wore that color yesturday. Purple!"

"How about black. I'm feeling pretty moody." I said as I pushed my hair out of my face, sitting up from my bed. Bonite rushed over to the curtains and pulled them open. Sending painful rays of sunlight into the room. I hissed and they all laughed. The sun had been so far from me in my childhood, it seemed distant and scary now.

I Don't want for leave this room.

Since this world is not a complete sphere or any actual shape, it is not a wish granting factory. Cat and Bonite tie my hair back into a bun and wrap a braid around the bottom. The third maid magically gets me to fit into a black kneelength dress. I look like i've been dressed for a funeral, and mabye I have.

"You look so PRETTYIFUL!" Cat says and I attempt to smile. It looks weak, I know but I feel the glass of the world shattering around me, falling like snow.

"Lady Teresa. It is time to go." Bonite says as she snaps me out of whatever I am in. One of the gaurds escorts me me down stairs. I have never seen Amelia look so upset, or underslept. It was hard to tell with all the women in the house, they all looked tired.

"Lady Teresa. What a pleasure it is to have you grace us with your presence. Take a seat anywhere." One if the gaurds open a door and it looks like a café but whiter, the only color in here is the burgundy couch in the corner next tothe white coffee table. I sat down in the middle, and tried to fall is to the world of another young teenager. Hazel Grace couldn't have been happier.

SNAP!

"Lady Teresa!" Amelia had a ruler glued to my desk, her eyes were slowly killing me. The prince smiled down at me his hand outstretched, as if he wanted to help me up. Everyone was looking at me.

"Shall we?" He asked, I blinked my eye's desperately trying to remember the question. The prince had one of those small smiles on his face. It was as if you couldn't see it but the edges of his lip's were turned up towards his nose. I took his hand and stood up, Amelia gave me a harsh look so II owed, praying it was the right thing to do. He walked us towards the couch, everyone was still looking at me, they were like sharks and I was the broken and bloodied fish they were heading after, but, I dismissed it and sat down.

"Do you want to leave?" Daniel asked as soon as we sat down.

"NO!"

"Yes."

"Maybe."

I couldn't make up my mind. He frowned now, it was overly done, something I had said made him upset with an unreadable emotion, I couldn't even read his eye's.

"Do you want me to?" I asked and I felt his fingertips brush mine. My hand suddenly woke to life, burning like I had put it on top of the stove, again.

"No. I'd like to keep you here awhile." He smiled again. It was contagious now. I felt my face warm, I looked down at my hands. The were a few centimeters from his.

"I see you like books."

"I see you like questions." He laughed. I fell into a hole if sudden self doubt. Should I have just agreed? Is this flirting? Does he think i'm flirting? Please don't let him think i'm one of those girls.

"What's your favorite book?" He asked recovering. All the other girls had taken to angrily staring at their hands.

"I haven't read them all. It would be impossible to choose." I reply and he thinks it over. Over, and over til I think he isn't thinking about books anymore.

"How's your brother? Is he okay?" Does he mean can he walk? Can he get a job? Will he ever be able to be normal again? Will he be punished with scars just like him?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

Am I okay with it?

No.

"He was okay the last time I saw him. The lashes were begining to heal. He should be fine." But now there's a chance it will get infected.

"Why did you ask?"

"Who likes questions now?" He smirked, I playfully hit his shoulder. He winced, the crowd gasped.

"Are you okay?" I said putting my hand on his shoulder. I could feel his scar under the shirt. My face got warm, again.

"Yeah." He mumbled. I rubbed my thumb on his shoulder. He smiled.

"Why did you dress for a funeral? " I looked around at everyone else. They alk had on some kind of dress that made them look prettier, curvy, sexy, and will in Camille's place like the girls Thomas would pick up when he couldn't find one walking down the street and he would have to pay more.

"I don't know."

There was a sudden screech. The princes face drained of color as he started screaming at everyone. A few girls broke down crying. There was a shot in the hall, a shot from a gun. A blood chilling scream. The floor went from a ghostly white to a dark red liquid, as it spread itself almond the floor, like flooding water. I was frozen in this invite time of fear, and nothing could pull me out.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/n don't worry the story **

Even with the Gregory life ,there was still a few things I failed to learn, like how to survive a rebel atack, because apperently I have no clue. Not that I would want to know, I'm more of a help after the fact type or person.

Everything is so still, it's not a life flashes before your eye's kind of thing. It's a watch life slowly fumble for it's grasp on you. The doors to the room have millions of gun shot holes trapped inside them, but I'm not looking at them anymore, I'm looking at skin!and cloth, and a really well defined collar bone.

"Stop crying." The prince say's to me. He isn't heading to where everyone else was, hedoesn't seem to be able to move that fast, beside the bulge of muscle in his arm, he feels weak. I can't breath through my nose anymore it's filled with disu0gusting snot. Iopen my mouth and start sobbing.

"Sssshhhhh!" My head is in his shoulder, my face resting on that small strip of skin. He hits a button on the wall. And then there is no wall, just a small dark space. Suddenly I feel cold, very, very, cold. I curl into a ball trying to escape inside myself. Things crash and the prince swears.

Let there be light.

"Are you okay?" He asks his hand still clinging on to the light switch. I nod my head and he kneels beside me.

"My great grandfather once told me, that, there were two types of rebels. The ones who killed, and, the ones who just ransacked." He pets my hair gently running his hand to the top of the bun and then bringing it back to my forehead. The same thing over and over again.

"The northerners, and the southerners. I forgot which is which. But I don't like them hurting you."_ guys. _He sits down on the floor now. There is a grunt of discomfort as he does it. I put my head in his lap craving his closeness. Like he is the only thing that can make me feel safe. And suddenly I'm scared again.

"Can the get in here?" I ask as he undoes my hair, until t spills over my face in soft ringlets.

"No." He say's as he pushes my hair away from my eye's. He shifts his body a littl and winces from pain. I sit up, place my hands unknowingly on his chest.

"Ar you okay?" I ask and he nods his head yes but I don't beleve him. I start undoing this top buttons of his jacket, with out his resistance, the top button of his collar on the other hand is completelydiffern story. He end up pulling his shrit off over his head, leaving an undershirt that is soaked with blood.

"Daniel..." He puts his finger on my mouth and points with his other hand towards the first aid kit.

It didn't take long for the gaurds to find us. Prince Daniel had been worse than I had thought, one of his lashes had become infected, and tore open during the rebel attack, no matter how many times I flushed out his wound the blood kept spilling over to where he had passed out. The King did not take to kindly to this.

"How do you expect to repay me for THIS!" The King shouted as he threw me across the room. My shoulder hit the window, which broke beneath my weight. The black dress had torn, and The King seized me up, before he pinned me to the wall. I felt like projectile vomiting against his face, his palace, and his life. To damage a little bit of his big life.

"My son won't mind." The King's gravely voice washed over my ears and froze my heart. Camille walked passed the door, she didn't stop until, The King had knocked over a lamp. I could hear her heels walking backwards, u ntill her green eyed golden face closed the door as she winked at me.

And then I lost it.

All of it.

Not what you're probably thinking, gross! Because suddenly I wasn't frozen, my knee came up between The Kings legs, he gasped and then collapsed to the floor. I started to walk away, but the king grabbed hold of the lace trim of my dress.

"Stop." I kicked at his arm but it didn't budge.

"That is a command." I kicked his arm again, but he began to stand. I lifted the flower vase from the bedside table, and brought it down on his head as I heard the door squeak open.

"Tess..." The Prince was standing in the door way, his face an Ashley pale. I felt like running, I felt like screaming, I felt like escaping into some unknown fictional world.

"I...I..I.." I mumbled but he looked from the floor to me to the broken flower vase that's glass was cutting into my pooling around my ankles, and dripping from my fingers to my toes.

"Get out of here." He said his eyes screaming bloody murder.

"Get out!" He shouted. I started crying.

"GET OUT!"

**A/n (continued) : will not end...**

**yet.**


	8. Chapter 8

The king never woke up.

I never saw his face again, the whole country of Illea was mourning his loss while Prince Daniel secretly enjoyed it. I no longer felt sick, but I was still worried.

Prince Daniel eliminated 12 of the girls already, all the one's I had started to become friends with were now gone. Leaving Camille glaring at me from acrossed the breakfest table. I haven't spent as much time with the prince as all the other girls had, ut inlike them I was okay with it. The prince ate his food, calmly and quietly, while the queen sobbed into her plate, until one of the gaurds escorted he to her room.

"Excuse my ladies...I will see you all at dinner." He queen said and wiped her face, when se left the room all the sadness left too, all there was, was greed. The prince kissed his mother goodbye and he resumed o his food. Everyone was dressed in black. Camille looked like she was modeling at a funeral, a tight knee lenght black dress with a blwck hat that let a lqce mack fall down in front of her face. Her make up made her eyes an eerie green, her blond hair into gold. Everyone was beautiful, and deadly.

"May I speak to you Lady Teresa?" Prince Daniel asked, wiping his mouth with his napkin.

"She's finally leaving..." one of the girls sighed.

The oak doors shut behind me nearly trapping the dress between them. Prince Daniel held his arm out to me.

"Lady Teresa it has been an honor having you here but I'm afraid..." I cut him off.

"You don't have to say it. I will be out before the morning." I said ducking my head to aviod his glance.

"I'm sorry, but I think you have the wrong idea." He said stopping in front of the library.

"I was going to ask for some of your time, but if you want to leave you can." He paused, looking at the ground. I was too shocked to do anything but stare at floor with him.

"I can only imagine what horrors you have been through here." He said taking my hands in his. He pressed his forehead onto mine.

"As can I." I breathed, finally being able to speak, I wanted to scream at myself and accept his offer to take up my time, but I stood there infront of the oak doors o the library. The palace was painted with pictures of the previous famioes that wondered these walls. I sudden spalsh of red caught my eye's. I turned my head away from his, and and looked at the photo more closely, feeling like I had seen this face before. She had am arm draped around her and a child, with the same red hair as hers sitting on her lap. A guy with ruffy blond hair and puppy dog eyes looked at her like he could never take his eyes off her, other wise she might disappear.

"King Maxon, and Queen America, with Prince Aspen." The prince said standing beside me. I could see the resemblene between him and Maxon, his eye's must of come from his mother.

"They look happy." Unaware of the world falling around them, but I knew that was fake, there eye's said so much, only the prince knew so little.

"You will be like that one day." The Prince said slipping his hand into mine, giving it a gentle squeeze. I looked to him, and smiled.

"I would like to go ona date with you." I said squeezing his hand in reply. He smiled and then kissed my cheek.

"Feel free to wonder the library, I will stop by your room around seven. For now I have to go to a dreadfully boring meeting." He said as he kissed my forehead and then wandered off with out a goodbye.

He didn't come to my room at seven. Cat silently curse him, and Bontie slapped Cat so she would be quiet. I guess they were right, the prince had better fish to catch.

"He shouldn't have got your hopes up, after, after..." Bontie said as she undid the braid in my hair. I was going to miss the bright color of my dress in the morning.

"It doesn't matter I'm sure he just had a meeting or something." I said trying to reassure her. Cat looked uo from her dusting and gave an evil look to the mirror.

"Yeah or the bloody bastered just got his ba..."

"CAT!" I said shocked at her words. Bonie had dropped my hair and starred at Cat in shock, my other maid was still missing from the recent rebel attack.

"What!?" She resumed dusting.

"Gosh." She said and then a knock came at the door. Cat looked at it and so did Bonite, I didn't feel like using my energy anymore, it was probably just Camille coming in to smirk. I need to make friends. The knock came again. Bonite quickly re-did my braid, and then opened the door.

Prince Daniel stood in the door way. His blond har was ruffled, and he brought his hand through it again, only disturbing it more, it was adorable. He was an hour and fourty five minutes late.

"I'm sorry I am late Lady Teresa." He sqid taking in a breath, there was a kine of sweat on his forehead, like he had been running.

"Surprise training. I would have washed up but I was..."

"It's okay."

"What?"

"I understand. Since the last attack you should be prepared incase anything else happens." He stared at me in disbelif.

"Wow." He gaped.

"What?" I asked and he smiled.

"All the others would have yelled at me." He smiled at me and looked me up and down. I blushed.

"Shall we go?" He asked holding his arm out to me. I smiled and nodded my head yes.

_**A/n: Okay guy's I have absolutely know clue what to do for their date! I have never actually been on one so all the ideas I have , I keep dismissing them.**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW WITH YOUR IDEAS!**_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/n sorry for the super short chapter! I just sorta want to get to chapter ten, it's a surprise! And thank you to the one review I received!**

Prince Daniel was nothing at all like the Gregory's, not that I ever thought he could be. His father on the other hand was a top class , I must not speak I'll of the dead...

On the other hand Prince Daniel had his tendencies to randomly break out in anger as he insisted on hearing my life story on the roof of the palace. His original idea I had shot down, because I am "allergic" to horses , honestly, I don't understand horses, so they scare the life out of me. But Prince Daniel was understanding.

"I'm sorry." He said as he set down the food he had been eating, and took ahold of my hand.

"You can't be sorry, you couldn't do anything to change it." I said with defience in my voice. You can't change something you didn't do, so, why want to?

"I can try to make your life better." He replied, brushing a piece of hair away from my eye's. His hand against my skin felt like fire. As if all the nerves inside my body had rushed to his touch. I felt betrayed when I felt the heat rush to my cheeks, and I blushed. I looked down towards the now mostly empty plates (in which I had eaten the majority of the food, but was hoping prince Daniel wouldn't complain about, he ate a well amount too, okay there was way too much food for just the two of us, okay maybe the carrots and sugar cubes were for the horses. Along with the apples).

"I'm sure you could try." I said to the plates, and then I started packing them away from my Gregory habits.

And then he stopped my hands from moving, taking them in his again, I was sure that by the time I got back to my room there would be third degree burns. And then placing one of my hands on the other and wrapping his hand around them, while he wiped so etching off of my face, he froze time. I never knew I had so many nerves inside my body, and I never had never been kissed before, but the Prince seemed content on changing that. I didn't know what to do it felt, extremely, awkward like having to take a test in a straight jacket. I was glad he was holding my hands because if he wasn't I was afraid they would be hanging limp by my sides. I opened my eye's, luckily his weren't open too. The sun, which amazed me was still out, and setting. Casting a pink glow out in the sky that faded into a light orange. There was a weird sound inside my head, like waves breaking on a sandy shore, but it was only the blood running inside my brain as it tried to process what was happening. The Prince broke away, smiling I couldn't help but smile too, mostly from shock rather than pleasure, he could use some lessons but I wasn't going to say anything.

"I don't usually kiss on the first date." He said blushing.

"Obviously." I said taking my hands out of his, he laid back onto the roof, putting his arm out. I laid back too, resting my head on his arm looking up at the sky with him, and then I suddenly felt tired.

"Tell me I story." I whispered, losing control of my mouth.

"A happy one." I added after some thought. I felt his arm tense beneath my head, and he turned his body to where it faced me.

"Once upon a time..." He began.


	10. Chapter 10

He kissed me.

And Camille. He said that he didn't usually kiss on first dates I know, I know, it was their third, THIRD! I never thought I would feel jealous about this, I guess I don't really feel jealous, I guess I feel scared. I haven't been this happy since, since, since I guess I joined my first fandom. That's what this feels like, always scared but loving it.

Camille hasn't stopped bragging about the kiss, and apparently hers was a lot better than mine. A few of the girls sitting at her feet give her angry looks while others just soak up the story, like I did his.

I don't know why I had expected to be the only girl he kissed, maybe I was the only girl that let him... But he kissed Camille just like he kissed me, and it made me angry. Why fall in love if there is the chance it will end in ruins? I ran to my room, not paying attention to the length of my dress, or where my feet landed as I fell. I only heard the laughter of the people that saw me. I picked myself up, unafraid (lie) of what other people thought, too tired to really care anymore. I had lived with this,I had lived with worse. I won't let them get the better of me.

Camille never really bothered me anyway.

I don't think it was any of them that made me run past my room, and the library, and the super creepy slimly underwater thing that had eye's but I guessed didn't really need them thing. I ran towards the roof. The possibilities of Prince Daniel eliminating me are high, they have always been high, and now that his father wants four girls gone by the report tomorrow, I did care if I left. I wasn't going to be anyones slave anymore, I am tired of standing in the shadows. The air on the roof was cool, it washed over my body in waves, slowly calming me down as I curled the gray dress around me on the floor. I couldn't get enough air inside my lungs, I couldn't breath in the whole inter supply of oxygen that the world had given us. There is so many things I can't do, but there is so much more that I can.

"Lady Teresa?" I heard the footsteps before I heard the voice.

"Are you alright?" He said sitting down next to me. This time I didn't pay attention to what his eye's were saying. I paid attention to them and all their beauty. They were not green like the Gregory's were, they were a dark brown with speaks of gold inside them, drawing me to them.

"I will be." I said. His eye's filled with something more than want, or desire, or any of the emotions I wanted him to have towards me, they were filled with pity, something I don't t deserve.

I slapped him.

"If you slap me again." He started but I slapped him again, and he took ahold of my wrist, to seize any further slapping activity.

"Don't" I said and he looked confused.

"Don't what?"

"Don't pity me."

"I don't pity you."

"You do." I rejected his statement.

"I don't." He rejected mine.

"If I pitied you, I wouldn't have kissed you." He said.

"You kissed Camille." That came out of nowhere.

"I did." DOES HE HAVE NO REGRET? OR THOUGHT ABOUT HOW WRONG THAT,THIS, IS?!

"Why?" I asked, his eye's looked annoyed but there was something in them, and the way they looked at me, that told me, I would be leaving.

"Because." I hate that one word answer.

Why'd you do this?

Because.

Why did the cat end up in the trash can?

Because.

Why did aunt Malia die?

Because.

Why do I still live here if you all hate me so much?

Because.

"I will never let you kiss me again. I don't care what anyone else say's." I looked away from him, hoping that if I ignored him, he would actually leave, but he didn't. Why?

Because.

"What did anyone else say?" He sounded angry.

"Not to deny you."

"Deny me what?" He grew angrier and angrier with each breath.

"Anything." He lost it, he screamed.

"Did everyone get told this?" Someone woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning.

I shrugged.

"Why are you shrugging? You're a girl they talk to you!" That sounded more of an accusation than a question, I looked at his eye's that were now burning, he was standing up now.

"Because." I said standing up, to where my eye's met his.

"Why did you kiss me?" I asked him.

"Because you understand me." He whispered. I found this all completely untrue.

"You know what it is like to be hated by the ones you hold close." I found myself holding him as he sobbed into my arms.

"I'm not like that." He said over and over again.

"You can deny me anything." He whispered. His face lifting up to mine.

"Even this." He said. I didn't know what he was going to do next, and I guess I never will, because at that moment, Camille walked up the attic stairs and slapped me.

I never saw her after that.

It was rumored for awhile that Prince Daniel had a soft spot for me. Even though he told me that it still felt all to unreal to be true, now that Camille and four other girls were gone, I was the biggest threat.

"You've only had two dates with him." Aurora sighed.

"You have too." I said and she sighed again.

"I am going to be eliminated, aren't I?" She asked looking down at her book. I knew she was, just like she knew I was going to be eliminated too. We all think we know if we are going to be the qpfuture queen of Illea. We all think we know our own future.

"He couldn't ever think of eliminating you." I said, a bit to sarcastically, but she didn't notice.

"He took me to see a movie." She said. I had never seen a movie, but I wasn't going to say anything.

"And then he just walked me back to my room, both times! He never spoke to me other than Hello and Goodbye!" She set her book down.

We had become friends once Camille left, and had taken over the library. I felt reluctant to set my book down, but I did.

"Did he talk to you?" She asked.

I nodded my head.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Don't say that."

"Don't say what?"

"Don't say 'I don't know'" she said'I don't know' really slowly it annoyed me and she saw that.

"I spoke to him first." I said. I had also slapped him but I didn't think that would help her. Suddenly she smiled and waved at someone behind me. I turned my head, and couldn't resist smiling too.

"Good afternoon Lady Teresa, Lady Aurora." Prince Daniel bowed, Aurora giggled, I resisted the urge to punch her in the face.

"Would you like to go for a walk Lady Teresa?" Prince Daniel asked and I felt a shift in the air, to where I knew Aurora was holding back the urge to punch me in the face.

"I would like that very much Prince Daniel." I smiled and took his hand as he helped me up, not that I needed it. My hand felt alive by his touch, like it disobeyed my orders and had chosen to be dead and lifeless before he entered any room I was in.

"I like your dress." He said.

"Thanks." I said sarcastically, I wasn't wearing a dress. It is Saturday, the need for a dress today didn't seem reasonable, and ever since the report I had been in, and how my dress had ripped, I promised myself I would never wear a dress again. I had blue jeans, and a long sleeve white shirt, my hair was up in a bun, because had gotten tired of it falling in front of my face.

"I like your suit." I said. He smiled a little and then turned towards me.

"I like you." He said, he sounded a bit sad, something told me this wasn't a conversation I wanted to be having.

"I like you too." I said a little shakily. His eye's brightened to a gold.

"Maureen hates you." He said, I sighed and sat down.

"Oh thank the gods." I don't know why I felt relived. I had only met her once and that was when I found out she had slept with Tom.

"I wouldn't say that just yet." He said running a hand through his hair.

"She...she...she is with child." He said it in a disgusted tone, I felt sick, super sick.

"And they are bringing him here.". I started crying, he picked me up into his arms, and let me cry into his collar. His scar peaking out from under his shirt, I had the sudden urge to touch it, but I refrained from doing that.

"There won't be an execution." He whispered, I cried more.

"There is going to be a wedding." I felt my legs fall from beneath me, and attempt to drag us to the floor, but he held me up as I cried.

"Okay, okay sshh!" He said a bit panicked.

"I don't know how to make you stop crying." He said it with no fear or anything. I laughed, and I could feel his heart speed up.

"Pat my back." I said and he did.

"Is this helping?" I laughed again, and nodded.

"Good." He nodded his head and then kissed the top of mine.

"That isn't one of the things they teach in prince school?" I asked, as I started to wipe away some of my tears with the back of his shirt.

"There is no 'prince school' and no no one tells you how to calm down crying women." He said and stopped patting my back, but he pulled me closer to him.

"You smell like books." He whispered, I laughed. He smelled like ink, and anger.

"If there is anything I can count on." He said and pulled away from me, wiping away left over tears with his thumb. I brushed the back of my hand against my nose, my gray eye's looking into his that seemed to change from brown to gold with his mood eyes.

"Is that you smell like books." He kissed the top of my head.

"You want to go destroy your brothers future room?" He asked I smiled but said no.

"Why?"

"Because." He nodded knowing that I had cleaned up to many messes to want to make another one.

"Food?" I said, he nodded his head and agreed.

"Food."


	11. Chapter 11

"Lady Teresa." Prince Daniel bowed as he entered the library. I have been hiding out here ever since Felicia stabbed Aurora, I should be at the infirmary with Aurora, but I'm not stupid. Felicia can get you at anytime. "Prince Daniel." I say and he takes my hand. I swear someone has let a fire to it, I've tried to make my hand burn when I touch it but it never works, it's like he has some magical power over me. "How would you like a walk?" He asks as he sits down next to me in the chair. I have to rearrange myself to were I am sitting on his lap, for both of us to fit. "I think I would much rather stay inside and read. You are welcome to stay with me Prince Daniel." I say as he takes my book out of my hands and sets it down on the table. "Why would you refuse such an outing?" He smiles and I run my hand through his hair. "Because." I whisper. This one word answer of 'because' has become our thing. I still hate the answer because though. "Shouldn't you be spending time with the other girls?" I ask him and he outs his hand on my knee, I have to refrain myself from burning into an ash. "Are you trying to get rid of me, lady Teresa?" "Oh no,no,no. Prince Daniel, it's just we've had so many more dates than the other girls. I don't want you to make the wrong choice." I say, as I nuzzle my head into his shoulder. "You just don't want to get stabbed." He say's petting my head. "How dare you say such a thing!" I say as I slap his chest. It's like slapping concrete. "You know it's true." He say's and he gives me a quick kiss on the cheek. I must looks like a tomato. Prince Daniel has this horrible habit of leaving before I wanted him to, but the rules don't allow me to ask him for more time, but today he stayed. I read him a book that he had picked out, and he kissed me making me lose were we were in the book, and he would laugh every time. Prince Daniel had full filled his promise to me, he made me see the light in this darkening world. "Tess..." He whispered, he was growing tired now, we had skipped lunch, I was guessing it was time for dinner. "Prince Daniel." I said and he took my hands and pressed the to his mouth. I let the book drop onto my lap. "Danny." "Whose 'Danny'?" "I am. Just call me Danny." "Okay, Danny." It felt foreign to say, he was letting me call him something no one else called him, but I knew not to get my hopes up, he was probably spending every minute he didn't have with me, with another girl calling him Danny. "It's time for dinner." I said and he groaned. I stood up before he could lift me up with him. Not that he couldn't pick me up, he could and did, by this point in our relationship I started to believe his arms were made of stone. "I don't want food." He said half asleep and his stomach groaned. "Your stomach disagrees." I said and he stood up held his arm out to me, I accepted it. I am still the only girl who doesn't dress in dresses, my maids have tried but my answer still remains at a no. All the other girls are dressed in black, pink, blue, yellow, and red dresses. Princess Maureen is in a flowly pin dress with silver rhinestones at the chest. You can sort of tell she is going to have a kid, she just radiates mother. "Good afternoon ladies." Prince Daniel, Danny, say's as he bows to everyone. He gives his mom and his sister a kiss on the cheek and sits down, and starts to eat. I sit by Thalia, she gives me an angry look and starts to eat her food. They waited for us. "He should be here mother!" Princess Maureen 'Whispers' to the queen. "Maybe he is just late." The queen whispers back. It is then I notice the empty chair next to Princess Maureen, and the plate with uneaten food on it. Breathing becomes hard to do, and I start to eat the food faster. I hear the fork hitting the plate over and over again, until the plate cracks. "Tess... Lady Teresa are you okay?" Danny asks me and I look up from the plate and at him. I smile and nod my head. "I'll be fine." I set the fork down. "I just need to go to my room... I'm sorry about the plate." I say excusing myself. "Let me walk you." Danny say's wiping his mouth and throwing the napkin down on the table. "No, no finish eating your diner." I say as I open the door but he grabs my hand. "I would much rather walk you to your room." He said with a wink. We passed that creepy underwater thing again. "What is that?" I asked as I stood behind Danny. "It's a fish." Cackled the person walking up to us. "I'm surprised you don't know that dear sister.". I squeezed Danny's arm tighter, as he approached. I felt Danny's hand find my back as he pulled me closer to him. "Tom." I said as he bowed to Danny, who let go of me to bow back. Tom takes my hand and gives it a quick kiss, and I feel myself start to puke. "Teresa." He say's with a smile. "I must go see my fiancé and future child. I'm sure they must be worried sick." A wicked smile plays on his lips. Prince Daniel stands in front of me, I hold his hand to my stomach. "I'm sure they are." He gives me a quick kiss on the cheek and leaves. "I'll see you later, sister." He say's from down the hall. When we can't see him anymore Danny pulls me into his arms and wraps them protectively around me. "I can have a guard posted out your room." He says into neck, which dances with life, as his breath skims the skin. "I..I..still won't be able to sleep." I say as I gather up my nerves. "Not unless you're with me." 


	12. Chapter 12

We did a lot more kissing than I thought we would. I would talk and he would kiss me. It wasn't a pity kiss, it was much much more. His kissed held passion, anger, and desire all together, and when he kissed me, it burned. He was like fire and I was paper, everything he did, turned me to ashes. But it was short lived, we didn't go any further than his shirt landing on the floor, on top of the stack of books, I had "stolen" from the library. I felt stupid, and cheap. Like someone Tom would pay for. Tom, he was back in my life, and Danny promised he would keep Tom away from me, just like I had promised Elias he would be okay, but while everyone else got a letter back from their family, I received silence, and it wasn't the pleasant kind. There was a rebel attack the day Tom had left, and now I had no clue how Elias was, or even if he was alive. I couldn't believe I let my emotions for Danny cloud my morals. "Have you kissed anyone besides me?" Danny asked, I knew if I said yes he would be hurt, but the answer was no, none that I had wanted. "No, I haven't. Have you?" He smiled at me, I knew he had and I still haven't completely forgiven him, and I probably never will. It was these small moments in time that made me fall in love with him, an un-dying natural love. "I think I'm in love with you." He said turning towards me, he still didn't t have his shirt on. I watched the muscles in his chest flex as he moved, I was in aw of him, not just because of his wonderful physic, but because he might be in love with me, but his body helped too. "You think?" I asked him and he brushed back a strand of my hair, like all the other fictional heroes I have read of, he loved my hair down, just like they did. "I'm waiting until I know for sure." He said with a smile. I gave him a kiss instantly wanting more, he was a drug, and I was an addict. "In that case Prince Daniel, I love..." I held the last word out and he held onto it hoping, endlessly hoping I was going to say his name. "Books." I said and he frowned and have me another kiss, I would need rehab if he kept kissing me, but I still never wanted him to stop. "Tell me something I don't know." He whispered against my lips, and moved his way to where he laid on top of me. He was an infinity of kisses, and I was the received of them, he knew when to stop and when to kiss me, he read my reactions like a children's book, and I fell hopelessly in love with him. "I'm in love with you." He whispered as he slid his hand acrossed my back. "Me too." I whispered back. He stopped kissing me then, and I was in a hangover, wanting, craving more, but he wouldn't give it to me. Instead he scooped me into his arms and brought my back against his chest, he was so warm, and I was so cold, despite the heat I received from his kiss. "Let's sleep." He said as he Nuzzled his head into the back of my neck. I nodded my head yes and closed my eye's. I didn't dream of anything depressing like I usually did, I dreamed of our wedding, I dreamed of Danny and mind's future. When I woke up Danny was still there along with my maids. Haylee was blushing, a lot. I could hear Cat laughing from the bathroom, screaming about her ship, and Bonite stood at the foot of the bed her hand covering her mouth. Danny stirred in the sheets and mumbled in his sleep. He took his hand of the sheet and waved them off. "Five more minutes." He said, I was sitting up, and his hand hit my stomach as he tried to return it. He sat up in a blink of movement surprising everyone. "Oh thank god." He said when he pushed my hair behind my ears. "I thought you might have been someone else." He said as soon as he thought I might have been hurt by his comment. "I don't mean it like that, I mean I don't want to sleep with anyone else." He said pushing his own hair behind his head. "Is he wearing pants!?" Cat screamed from the bathroom. I blushed like a tomato. "Is he?" Bonite asked. I nodded my head as he checked. It took forever for my maids to leave. It didn't take so long for Danny to. This must have been extremely awkward for him, I mean why would he want to be seen with me? He spent the next few weeks away from me, I had given him everything, and he had gave it all away. You can have your heart broken just as easy as you can fall in love. 


	13. Chapter 13

I didn't think he could do this to me. Completely destroy my life and then serve it back to me on a platter. Danny, Prince Daniel, has been on at least three dates with every girl in the selection, except for me. Thalia couldn't stop talking about their romantic walk in the garden, Aurora went on and on about the silent movies, and it seemed like everyone had a story to tell except for me, and for once I didn't want to hear them.

I went up to the roof, holding I would see him but he wasn't there, and my heart fell deeper in my home made hell. I still wasn't going to forget about the promise Danny, Prince Daniel made me. He promised to make me happy and all I felt now was the opposite.

I felt forgotten.

The wind was calming as I laid back against the roof. I heard footsteps walk up the ladder and my heart quicker, but it wasn't who I wanted it to be. And then I heard the alarms go off, I froze again, but it was short lived.

I ran down the ladder and put of the attic, a group of old people were being transported into the safe room so I followed them. Prince Daniel wasn't with them. He was probably on a date, it wouldn't be new. I shouldn't have said I love him, but he said it first. This safe room was much bigger than the other one I had first been in, and it was a lot lighter. The queen was crying in the corner, and I felt scared.

Had something happened to Prince Daniel should I be scared?

I need to calm down, and the princess needed to, too. The princess was hugging Tom close, and crying. Something must have happened, something bad. And then Prince Daniel ran down the steps, his golden eye's looking around frantically at everyone except me. All the other girls from the selection were here but he seemed on edge. And then he saw me. I have never seen anyone run so fast. I was hoping he would kiss me, but then again, what would everyone think, and I didn't want Tom to see Danny kiss me.

"Are you okay?" Danny asked as he stood in front of me. Some of the other girls were crying, and others were, well they were all crying, it was pretty annoying.

"I'm fine, are you..." He kissed me, and it was a forest fire that spread throughout my entire body faster than anything I could even think of.

"Okay?" I said as he broke away.

"I have to go talk to the others." He said the others as if he was eating rotten food, a burst of hope ran into my mind. He kissed me again, and then he said good bye. Some of the girls stopped crying when he greeted them, others cawed for his attention.

Something was different with Tom, he was more fatherly. It made me sick, anything he did made me sick. I was sick of being sick. And Danny noticed.

"Hey." Danny said as he crawled into the cot next to me.

"Hey." I said as he wrapped his arms around my sides.

"They're all probably starring at us." I said as I grabbed his hands and pulled them close to me. After he had been gone for so long, I craved his closeness.

It didn't take long for me to fall asleep. It took an even shorter amount of time for Danny to. Two girls left after the rebel attack, leaving ten of us left.

Lady Alexandria

Lady Daisy

Lady Terrie

Lady Marie

Lady Katie

Lady Utopia

Lady Eve

Lady Yania

Lady Taravon

And me Lady Teresa.

It is weird being an elite, it's like war. Danny has a choice to make soon, his mother isn't doing well, and I am afraid she might die if she doesn't get better.

"Lady Teresa." I hear his foot steps and my body tightens, he shouldn't be here.

"Tom." His name, it feels horrible in my mouth and I just want it to leave.

"Would you like a walk with me?" Tom asked as he held his arm out for me to accept it. Was it wrong of me to be wanting to hear the rebel alarm?

"No, no thank you." I replied, everything about him was vile.

"I'm not like I was before." Tom said as he grabbed my hand.

"It was all just an act." He took my other hand in his and started walking me back words.

"People change."

"Only in books. You can't change the things you've done." I said back to him but my voice broke, he knew I was scared, and that was something you didn't want Tom to know.

"But I can try to fix them." Something broke behind me, and there were more footsteps.

"How? How is this helping?" My voice was wobbly and it kept breaking. The amount of fear inside me, made him smile.

"Because you won't tell anyone."

And then he kissed me, and I tried to fight back, but it wasn't possible, he moved from my strikes, and his hold on my hands made me feel like they were bleeding, and breaking.

Something pulled Tom off of me, and I fell to the ground crying, my hands were going to be badly bruised, and they kept shaking.

I kept crying, and crying, and crying. Prince Daniel kneeled in front of my trying to calm my nerves, but Tom was there. Tom was watching me, every move I made and the princess thought he was the nicest guy in the world.

"Tess, Tess, Tess, he's gone, he's gone." Danny said as he stopped the try-to-get-her-to-talk to bringing me into his arms.

Danny carried me to his room, it wasn't like the one I have. The bed had black covers, the walls were red, there was a huge window overlooking the palace gardens, there were pictures hung on the walls, and there was a huge gun case next to the bed.

"Do you want something to drink, I can have my maids get you something." He said as he pushed back a piece of my hair, I had stopped crying by the time we entered his room. I was in aw of it. Everything in it looked like it hadn't been moved for years, there was nothing that screamed "THIS IS DANNY'S ROOM!" It all said "this is temporary."

"I'm fine, just don't leave me." I said as I put my hand over his, it was still on my face still comforting.

"I won't." He said as he wiped some remaining tears off my face. We stayed like that for hours, both of us on our sides, me holding his hand on my face as he wiped invisible tears off it. There was a knock on the door. He told who ever it was to go away, but they knocked again.

"You missed our date!" Lady Taravon said as she stomped her feet, she was throwing a tantrum, I didn't want to hear it.

"I'm sorry Lady Taravon. Something happened and I wanted to take care of it." He said. He kept the door closed enough so she wouldn't see me, but she barged in any way's and saw me.

"Oh, that's why he likes you."

"Lady Taravon!" Danny shouted, and Lady Taravon smirked.

"I want you out of here before dinner!" He said as he pointed towards the door, she pouted whispered something in his ear, that made him look more angry and then she left. This time I had to comfort Danny. I sat up on the bed, with my arms out for him to crawl into them. Instead he took me into his arms and tucked my head under his chin.

"I want it to be you." He said after awhile of my stroking his stomach, I didn't get why they called it a "stomach" I didn't get how he had a "stomach" all it felt like was rock hard abs.

"I want to marry you." He whispered and I smiled, and took his hand into mine. I kissed each knuckle before I set it down.

"I want to marry you too." I said and then he said something else.

Something I dreaded.

"I want to marry Lady Marie, too."


	14. Chapter 14

A/n _** i would love more reviews, and thank you to the reviewer I currently have right now, I don't want to sound snobby like I probably do right now, I would just like some comments on how you guy's feel and to see, what you all think, because right now I feel like I am going a bit crazy with this plot line.**_

I became friends with Lady Marie almost instantly after that. I don't get why he likes Lady Marie, she is so different from me, she had short blond hair, and long, long legs. While I had average everything, she was gorgeous and I was normal.

"Has he shown you his room yet?" She asked as she pushed away one of the Books I had recommended her, that was another difference between us, she hates books.

I don't know how she can hate books, I mean books are another world made just for the readers, but that didn't seem to interest her.

"Yeah. I've been there."

" It's so weird, isn't it?" She gaped as snatched up my book. I had the feeling I should stab her in the eye with a butter knife and totally Peter this out, but some nice person in the bottom of my soul said "Do it, do it and you never marry the prince, do it and be stuck a Gregory and never, I repeat NEVER A SCHREAVE!" I brokenheartedly listened to that annoying voice, and forced a smile. She closed the book with out the book mark.

I gasped.

"I didn't have..."

"It's so normal and plain and normal, just like him simple and plain."

Someone didn't know the Danny I know, because the Danny I know is strong, weak, worried, fierce, undoubtedly hot (like hot, HOT, like burn down the world HOT) caring, protective, kind, brave, and most of all loving. I guess he choose to show me a different side of him, the side he didn't want anyone else to see.

"My..."

"AND HIS EYE'S!" She said that a little to loudly to where the other girls looked at us, at this moment I would have been happier to be with Lady Taravon than Lady Marie and that was saying a lot, but I did get what she meant by his eye's.

His eyes looked like they could keep you alive in the darkest corners of the world. They kept you going because you just had to see them again.

"They've seen his room..." Lady Eve whispered to Lady Alexandria who comment something both Lady Marie and I (well I hoped for Lady Marie) wasn't true.

But then again the world is not a wish granting factory.

"How dare you assume such monstrosities!" I ecliamed, if I had a book now I would (gently) slam it on the table, but instead I just stood up and walked over to where they were sitting.

"If you think you can just live you life on assumptions, then you are the most, most, most (I couldn't think of anything nice to say, and it was becoming hard for my not to slap her smug face) Ugh! Lady Eve life is based on a series of facts, like 1) Lady Alexandria I have not slept with Prince Daniel, I cannot speak for Lady Marie but I can"

"I haven't slept with him either." Lady Marie piped in, I felt hope run through my veins.

"2)without facts in this world we would all still be dumb monkeys just discovering fire and there would be no such thing as knowledge so there would be no such thing as the things you possibly love today. 3) I came into this unprepared and have no such things to continue on this list but I hope I made the point." I hadn't, I ran out of ideas as fast as I ran off the roof during the rebel attack.

_The rebel attack, oh gods._That night, the night of never endless pain, the night he said he wanted to marry me, the night he said he wanted to marry her too. I left the women's room and slammed the door. Lady Marie clapped after me.

"That was very un-lady like of you." Said one of the guards.

He was tall, very very tall. He towered over me, and possibly everyone else in the palace.

And his eye's, oh gods his eye's, they were green, not the Gregory type of green (the ugly I wanna kill you kind of green that is the Gregory green) but the type of green that was darken than the grass and pulled you into it the type of green.

And his body, it beat the dauntless cake out of Prince Daniel's.

And his hair, it was black, jet black, I felt like I could run my hands through it all day, and I promised myself that I would.

And his skin, it was tan, not tan tan, but tan.

"I'm Lady Teresa." I said as I held My hand out for him to shake it, he looked me over grinned and then took my hand in his and gave it a kiss.

It was like my hand exploded and then he put it back together again.

"I'm Officer Leger." He smiled.

Oh gods he was hot. He put Prince Daniel to shame.

"How long have you been here? Were you drafted?" I asked him and for a second he looked hurt, but he continued smiling.

"I was born in the castle, my dad was a guard my mom was a maid." His voice was like the waves, it made me want to be the rocks, that stood in the way.

"Oh."

"Do you like it?" He asked me, as he returned back to his previous standing position.

"Like what?"

"Being an elite." He clarified, something in his tone made me feel like he thought in that moment that I was stupid.

"Yes and no." I said and he turned his head towards me, his face holding one of those sexy half smiles, that boy's used when they wanted something.

"What do you mean?" He asked coyly.

"It's okay I guess, I mean you get to fall in love and be recognized by the prince, but there is always this chance that he might not fall in love with you, so you are in this constant fit of worry." I smiled up at him and he smiled down at me. I secretly thanked his parents for creating such an attractive being, and there was no doubt that he knew he was attractive.

"Well if I am ever so lucky, let me be your second choice." He said as he gave my hand another kiss, he was still holding it, and I felt myself blush. I attempted to hide my face in my hair, but it was help up in a pony tail, so I probably looked like I was having a seizure.

I gave up after he asked me if I was okay.

"I'll see you later, my shift is over." He winked as another guard approached, I felt abandoned as he walked away, and left me there. I shouldn't have starred at him as he walked away but I did.

And that body...


	15. Chapter 15

I didn't know what he meant by See you later, or even when he meant it. So you must imagine my surprise when there was a knock on the door at the middle of the night. Cat answered the door even though I told her to go home and sleep, but I guess she didn't listen.

But that knock _woke_ me up.

And _kept_ me up.

_I heard Tom's voice before, but I had never heard it like this, gravelly and desperate, with a hint of desire. Before his voice was always desire, and now there was something I had never heard in it before. There was regret. Cat left and let Tom in, I immediately felt a strong distrust in her, but Tom had used his charm on her and it had won, so I dismissed it._

_"Hey little sis." He said as he sat down on the bed, and started taking off his shoe. There was footsteps outside the door, they were probably Cat's as she left but I could still hope. I pretended to be asleep, even though he knew I wasn't._

_"Being a dad is hard. The princess is always complaining, I can't believe I actually want to take that back and stay home the night before the letters." The shoe dropped to the floor and I jumped._

_"I can't believe that." He said and lifted the covers next to me, and crawled inside._

_"I just need to sleep somewhere else for a night." He whispered into my hair, his hands wrapping around my mid section. _

_"With someone else.". I turned around in the bed and started punching him. It was just hitting and crying, and hitting and crying,_ until I woke up.

"Lady Teresa it's just a dream, you're okay." I heard someone as they held onto me in a hug and pushed back my hair. The covers were strewn all across the room, and Officer Leger was craddling me in his lap. The door was open, and I pushed myself closer to Officer Leger, and cried into his shirt.

He sang to me.

And it was beautiful.

By the time he finished I had fallen in love with his voice, and if I was stupid enough I could have been in love with him, but I knew I was falling that way.

"Who taught you to sing like that?" I asked him after he finished singing and he smiled down at me and kissed the top of my head.

"My mother, who was taught by her mother, who was taught by her secret god mother." He said and I smiled up at him. _what an explanation._

"My name it's Aspen." He said pushing back one last invisible strand of hair.

"Aspen." I whispered into his shirt, and squeezed him closer to me. My head didn't even reach his shoulder like it did when I was with Prince Daniel, with him my head barely reached his chest.

I had stopped crying half way through the song, and just listened to him like I was now, but before it was his voice and now it was his breathing.

He didn't kiss me, like Danny did.

He didn't kiss me at all.

He didn't tell me he loved me.

He didn't tell me he was in love with someone else.

He didn't try to do anything with me.

He was just there.

And it was wonderful.

Just to know someone was there to keep me calm, to be there specifically for me to cry into. And I didn't have to do anything in return, and I probably never would have to. The fact that a person was just a person and had no obligations for anything, or anyone made me feel safe. He made me feel safe, and not the i-wanna-feel-safe-with-him-because-he-is-the-prince-safe or the i-have-to-feel-safe-because-i-might-be-marrying-him-safe I felt the i-am-not-alone-in-this-lonly-place-safe.

"I'll see you later." He said after awhile. I felt his absence before he even left.

"Aspen." I whispered into my pillow as he stood at the door, about ready to close it.

"Yes, Lady Teresa?" He said turning to look back at me, that half smile on his face.

I melted.

"I'll see you later."

"I'all see you later."

And he closed the door.

I woke up to a knock this time, a real knock.

"Good morning Tess." The Prince said as he sat down next to me on the bed, and pushed back my messy hair. I hoped my face wasn't red anymore. I didn't want to see me distraught again, some people can only handle so much, but he was strong like me, he had lived through so much, like I had.

"Good morning Prince Daniel." I yawned as I sat up and he scooped me up in his arms.

"I thought you called me Danny." He whispered into my neck as he gave me a hug.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be here." I whispered back.

"I thought you were in love with someone else." I whispered again and he looked at me his eye's wide in shock. And he took my hand and held it to his face to where my palm was on his cheek, I could feel a little stubble.

"Do you think a person can be in love with two people at once?" He asked as he rubbed circles on the back of my hand.

"Yes, I do believe it." I said and looked away.

"It doesn't make me think it's okay." I whispered, and he moved his other hand from my back and to my face, and he did the same as he did with my face as he was doing to my hand.

"I love you." He whispered to me like it was a secret.

"I love you too." I whispered back.

"Meet me on the roof. After you are done getting changed, and brushing you hair, it's a bit crazy." He exclaimed and I hit his chest playfully, removing his hands from me.

"Hey!" I said

"Hey is for horses!" He said

"I hate horses." I said disgusted, and he frowned.

"I love horses." He exclaimed and I gave him the look that said you're-lying! But he wasn't.

"Their bodies are so mix matched and they have four legs and an enormise middle section, they shouldn't be able to work but they do." I shuddered at the thought of them.

"I'll see you at the roof." He smiled as he pushed back more of my hair and then kissed me.

It didn't feel like before, there was not as much rage, not as much fire as I used to fell. How I felt when it was fake.

It was calm, but not that calm, my insides filled with water and it was boiling.

He left after the kiss, and I started changing into a white long sleeve shirt and blue jeans. I grabbed a jacket and through on some sneakers. He was waiting for me, a smile on his face the sun rise in the background, I hadn't brushed my hair, I left it crazy just to annoy him, but I was going to brush it out afterward.

"Tess, what a surprise it is to see you here!" He said as he walked to me and kissed me again, and again, and again. His hands fell to my waist as he pushed me against him, my arms were around his neck.

"You to." I said when he finally broke away from me, to catch his breath.

"I had breakfast sent up here." He said as he lead me around to the other side of the roof, where there was a table set up with a large selection of food. And it was all my favorites.

"You didn't have to do this!" I said excited as I sat down in the chair he had pulled out for me. He pushed the chair in and sat down himself.

"To us." He said as he picked up his glass of champagne.

"To us." I replied lifting up mine.

Breakfast went by rather boring, now that I had someone to compare Prince Daniel to, and that was all I could do. The way Prince Daniel ate was as if someone was watching him and he had to perfect everything, and the way he looked at me.

I knew he was comparing me too, comparing me to _her._

The rebel alarm went off while I was brushing my hair. Officer Leger broke into my room with a limp, and grabbed my hand and started pulling me out the door.

"We have to go Lady Teresa." He said as we reached the hall, maids and servants were failing about, the guards were holding back a group of rebels, I suddenly knew that Aspen wouldn't make it to the safe room, if he stayed out here, he wouldn't make it.

At all.

I saw the spot on the wall that Amelia had pointed out to us, in case we couldn't get back, and I pressed it, pulling him with me. The hairbrush was still in my hair my hands were searching Aspen for the injury that was making him limp.

"Stop." He said as my hands reached his thigh, I looked up and all I could think was.

_Oh..._

_Awkward._

_"_You were limping." I said as I started to pull my hands away from him.

"I know." He smiled down at me, his grass green eyes staring into my cloudy gray ones.

"I was stabbed." He said removing his left hand from his abdomin. It was red. _Blood _red.

"Aspen." I said breathless as I stood up and pressed his hands onto it again. I wouldn't let my second chance have such a small infinity.

I wanted a bigger one. An infinite amount of infinities.

I grabbed one of the first aid kits I had seen against the wall and I tore it open, everything went everywhere, and I scrambled around the floor to find the bandages. Until I felt his hand on my face. It was warm, and full of life.

But it was covered in blood.

The true color of death.

"I'll be fine." He whispered.

"It's just a flesh wound."

But he had no flesh, he was full body muscle, every part of him was important, every part of him was vital to his life.

And so I cried.

And I found the bandages, and thank the gods they were clean.

After I bandaged him up, I laid down next to him. The worry in my face must have dissappeared, or became less, because his body became less tense, and he fell asleep. I didn't know what to do, usually Prince Daniel fell asleep and then I did, but I didn't want to sleep I wanted to watch Aspen. I wanted to be with him in this very moment forever (of coarse the whole being stabbed thing would have been great to have never happened too, but the world is not a wish granting factory.) and I wanted him to be awake. I wanted him to be something Prince Daniel wasn't, I wanted him to be something no one else could. I wanted him to be a hero. _My Hero._

_Just for me._

And there was so many things I could want. I could keep wanting for the rest of my life and never actually get what I want, but the hope that came with the want was blissful. But the doubt that I couldn't get it made me angry, I could want him forever, if I did want him right now,'and I didn't just want revenge for the betrayal I felt from Prince Daniel at the moment. One day I would want someone as I wanted Aspen, I would want Prince Daniel in that same way that I wanted him. I wanted them both, equally.

All I could do is want.

All i could ever do is want.

All I had ever done was want.

Never have.

I screamed.

"Teresa." Aspen said as he sat up, and cringed.

"Teresa are you okay?" He said and I looked up at him and saw that same want.

Like he had wanted this his whole life.

"Aspen." I said as I crawled into him and buried my face next to his bandages, I would have to change them soon.

"I'm fine, Aspen."

"I'm grand." I smiled.

Love changes you the way words do, the way grief does.

By revealing you. To where you can't hide any secrets to where you find your true self, your whole self.

I found myself in Aspen as I sat there as he held me and I screamed I to his chest about how unfair life was, and he screamed about being stabbed and the pain it felt like to be stabbed, but didn't mean his abdomen, he meant his heart.

And so we sat there, holding each other screaming.

A hot mess.


	16. Chapter 16

Aspen.

_Aspen, Aspen, Apsen, Aspen, Aspen, Aspen, Aspen, Aspen, Aspen, Aspen, Aspen., Aspen, Aspen, Aspen, Aspen, Aspen, Aspen, Aspen, Aspen, Aspen, Aspen, Aspen, Aspen._

Aspen is beautiful, and I know boys are not supposed to be beautiful but he is. And the way those grass green eyes look at me is as if I am beautiful too. Noone has ever looked at me like he does, no one looked at me before the selection, or before I was hit in the face while helping Elias.

No one cared enough to look.

Except for Aspen.

His hand traced the side of my face, where I had been hit with the whip thingy, there was now a scar, no matter how much my maids tried to his it, it was there. It had become a part of me.

"What happened?" He said as he held my face, I didn't know if I was going to be able to speak with his hand on me, it was as if I was in tremendous amounts of pain, but it wasn't a bad pain it was a pleasurable pain.

"My brother was being flogged, and I got between the whip and him. The Prince saved me from any further harrasment though. I should be thankful, I only got a scar." And not hundreds like my brother did.

"The Prince let you get hit?" Something replaced the look in his eyes and there was a look I had seen many times before. A look of anger.

"No he didn't, he just didn't yell in time to save me." I said and I felt his hand tense on my face, and I put my hand on his to let him know I was okay.

"I did after all jump in front of it so it is technically my fault." I whispered not being able to trust my voice. I looked down at my lap, I couldn't stand the beautifullness of his beautiful green eyes.

When I was little I promised myself I would never like a person with green eyes. The Gregory's had ruined everything for me, and I had promised myself, no green eyes.

But how eye's were not green, not Gregory green. His eye's were like the grass but glossly and perfect, and everything I wanted my eyes to be. And they were his eyes, a part of him, a part that made him beautiful. Yes of coarse you could take away the color of his eyes and he could still be beautiful, nothing could not make him beautiful.

"Do you want to kiss me?" He asked. I suddenly felt weird, I didn't know where the hairbrush had gone, and if it was still stuck in my hair, and I was very aware that my breath was horrible, and of the semi circle of pudge that I have. I ran my hands hastily through my hair. I found the hair brush still hanging on and I pulled it out, and brushed the rest of my hair.

"Do you want to kiss me?" I asked him, after my hair was brushed.

He exhaled really loudly and sat up, and looked at me. Those green eyes baring into my skin, and burning it off me. I suddenly felt exposed to his eyes. The jacket I had been wearing kept me covered up. And he was shirtless, except for the bandages, which I had changed while he was sleeping.

But I couldn't stop this feeling of nakedness.

Did he want to kiss me?

Did I want to kiss him?

Yes.

Yes,yes,yes,yes.

But he didn't reply. He ran his hand through his hair and hit his back against the stone wall. Angry with himself, and I just stared at him, wanting him, but I didn't do anything either. How could I want to betray Prince Daniel like that? I love him.

"Lady Teresa." Aspen said. I didn't realize I had been looking away from him, and when I did look at him he was sitting with his hands in his hair his elbows on his thighs.

"Yes." I said. I wanted to run my hands in his hair.

"We should have a signal." He said, something about his voice told me he was smiling.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

I felt that sudden carelessness that someone got when they didn't care what happed, when they were to caught up in the moment to do anything but be there.

"In case we want see each other, without anyone noticing."

_incase I wanted to see you._

"We should." I said running a hand through my hair.

"If one of us tugs our ear it means we want to see the other." He smiled, and I smiled in reply. I felt so devilish the monster that had been inside the Gregory family was finally leaving me, and being replaced by him.

I tugged my ear.

And he tugged his.

His bandage started to spot with blood again, and I looked around the floor, there wasn't anymore. His shirt was on the floor, I couldn't use that, and it would be extremely awkward if I used his pants.

"Your bandage needs to be changed." I said and he looked down at it, and frowned.

"My shirt is over there." He pointed at it.

"It's too dirty." I said and he looked at me he was trying to hide his smile but it didn't help it was still there.

"Then use yours."

I don't know why it hadn't occurred to me before, sure the shirt was clean, protected by the jacket that I had been wearing, but that would mean he would see me shirtless, and it scared me. Not because I didn't want him to see me like that, but because I was afraid, afraid of my body and everything that came with my. I unzipped the jacket and then started undoing the bandage. He had laid back down on the cot, and winced as I took off the tape. He kept looking at me as I took off the jacket, but when I started to take off the shirt he looked up at my eyes, and never looked down as I replaced his bandage with my shirt.

"Thank you." He said as I had adjusted it to where the most blood would stay inside before it would need to be bandaged again, what would I use then?

I smiled.

"For what the bandage of the shirtlessness." He smiled and laughed.

"Both I guess." But he wasn't looking at my body, he was looking at my eyes, as if he knew I didn't want him to look there.

The door opened behind us and I jumped surprised by the screech it made.

"Oh thank god, WE FOUND LEGER!" A guard shouted from behind me.

"Whose the chick?" The guard asked as he walked up behind me, I felt my body tense as I scrounged around for my jacket, but my hands couldn't find it.

"Oh crap." He said as he realized, I wasn't a maid or a servant. I was a part of the selection. The guard tossed the jacket at me.

"Damn it Leger I gotta report this." The guard and Aspen winced and the guard walked forward again.

"Oh crap!" He said again.

Did all guards speak like this?

"HE'S BEEN STABBED! HE'S BEEN STABBED! GET A NURSE GET A NURSE! WE NEED MEDICAL ATTENTION OVER HERE!" He shouted and then put pressure to Aspen's wound. I didn't think he needed that anymore, the blood loss had gone down, but the guard found it important.

Twp guards and I nurse ran inside as I zipped my jacket up. The guards were carrying something for Aspen to lay down on, and they put him on it, the nurse took over the shirt and the guard looked at me and stepped back and bowed.

"Thank you for giving my dear friend Aspen your shirt, it was very kind of you to want to stop the blood flow, I do not have to report this." I smiled at him. And looked back to Aspen who tugged his ear as he left, and I tugged mine hoping he saw it.

_I'll see you later._

"we gotta get you to Prince Daniel, I'm sure he's been worried sick." The guard said.

"I'm sure." I said. I don't know why but I tugged the edges of my jacket closer to me, as if I could sense something as the guard walked me over to where my room was, as we turned the corner I ran face first into him.

"Lady Teresa!" He exclaimed.

"Everyone has been so worried about you! We must get you to the prince he is in the west wing looking for you, I got this sir, you may leave now. I can escort her." He said as he waved off the guard and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I shrank.

"No it's okay you can stay." I said to the guard.

"Not it's okay I've got this." Tom said, his voice stern. I knew that if in said anything else, he would hit me so I kept my mouth shut.

He took me to the roof.

"Isn't this were you and the prince co e for your little "make out" sessions?" Tom sneered. I felt instantly mortified, did everyone know that I had kissed Prince Daniel, had he gone around sporting about how he had kissed me?

"I'm sure you've done more up here." He said, a grin on his fave.

"I'm really terrified of where I should step." He said as he pushed me in front of him.

" is it okay to stand here?" He asked, as he took a step towards me, I noticed his eyes and the dull gray green that there was in them, the same gray I had but his was hinted with green speaks.

He wasn't a Gregory either.

"You're not a Gregory!" I said and he smiled. I started noticing more and more differences, and I noticed so much more than him, and the actual Tom I knew.

"You're not even Tom."

The dyed blond hair.

The gray/green speckled eyes.

The two inches taller.

The scar above his eyebrow.

The wave in his hair.

The length of his hair.

The crooked tooth.

"It took you forever to figure that out." He sighed, as he took another step towards me.

"Who are you?" I asked him. The wind had picked up and forced me to take a step back.

"Oh I'm truly embarssed! You don't remember me!" He yelled as he took another step towards me. The wind had really picked up by now, and I had got a sudden hole in the pit of my stomach. So e part of me knew who he was but didn't want to admit to it. How had I not seen this before?

"I'm sorry you won't ever remember, Her." He said as he took another step towards me and my foot hit the edge of the palace roof.

"Well I'm not that sorry." He pushed me.

And I fell.


	17. Chapter 17

Everything hurt. And I mean everything. You never want to fall off the palace roof, and I was lucky I landed on Lady Marie's balcony just a story below where I feel, I badly twisted ankle. But I wasn't so lucky with what I saw.

Prince Daniel was laying next to Lady Marie in bed his head laying on her chest, as she kissed his forehead, repeatedly his hands were on her chest to and her hands, they weren't were I would have wanted them. They had both looked up when I had landed there, and I had also screamed in pain but I didn't think that was worth mentioning. Danny had ran over to help me get to the hospis, I didn't want him touching me, after he had touched her.

And that's basically tHat is how I found myself boredly sitting in the library my foot propped up on the table, while I read the same book for the thousandth time. And I couldn't help but wonder why I kept doing the same thing, reading the same book, over, and over, and falling in love with Prince Daniel, when I knew I couldn't have him, and my crush on Aspen (if you could even call it a crush, more of a deep liking.) And I could only have Aspen if Danny let me go, and then my hatred towards Lady Marie, and how I had caught her doing things I had never done with anyone, even Prince Daniel.

Did he have her call him Danny too?

"Tess." Prince said as he walked into the room his arms out wide, a smug grin on his face, as he leaned over me, I felt that rush, that rush you get when you know you're in love, and you know that they betrayed you, but you can't help but still be in love with them. And you get that rush.

That rush of want.

"Danny." I said, before he could kiss me.

"You've chosen Lady Marie haven't you?" I ask as I turn my face away from his lips, because I know he will want to kiss, me and make it disappear, but he can't do that. He can't do that again.

"I haven't choose anyone, yet." He said a little to dryly, like he was telling a lie. He tried to pry my face from the pillow but I refused to move.

"Stop." I said after he had given up on trying to move my head, and started kissing my neck, but he didn't stop, he just made me burn.

"Danny...stop." I mumbled. I could feel my body giving in to him, betraying me to him, to the man who betrayed me. His arms snaked around my waist, drawing me closer to him, my breath shaking.

He didn't have a breath, he had pants. Uncontrollable short breaths that were filled to the brink with want.

Want. Want. Want.

All he did was want, and want to have.

"DANNY!" I shouted as his hands groped at my chest.

"Stop!" But he wouldn't he didn't want to. He thought he was making up for the things he saw me see. Things I didn't t want to happen to me before I was married, at least not with him.

"Danny, don't do this." I said, muffled by his half-sided passionate kiss.

"Don't be your father." I whispered as he pulled away.

Anger was growing on his face like a patch of weeds in the middle of a rose garden. (A/N: IF ANYONE CAN TELL ME WHAT I MEAN IN THAT SENTENCE I WILL WRITE ANYTHING YOU WANT IN THIS STORY TO BE IN THIS STORY!)

"Is everything alright in here?" Aspen asked as he walked by. He must of saw the same thing I saw in Danny's face. Something had changed in him, something scary.

"Can you take _Lady Teresa." _he spat as if my name was a horrid thing to say.

"To her room. She needs some time to think over her actions." He said willing away sweat from his brow.

"Yes Prince Daniel, I will see that she makes a safe passage." He said, the air had seemed to stiffen a bit. It was me and the two boy's I found myself falling to and away from. Aspen helped me walk to my room, and fall into my bed. He fell with me.

"I think I'm falling for you Lady Teresa." He whispered as he pushed my hair back behind my ear.

"I wouldn't want that." I said and he looked as if I had just stolen his favorite thing.

"I am property of Illea." I said trying to choose my words carefully.

"The prince owns me."

**A/N:Sorry this is so short, and I haven't updated in a long time. I'm sorry if you think her and Aspen are moving too fast, but to them they have both been blindly following something and when that something betrays you, she went looking for a rebound, he went looking for an escape... PLEASE REVIEW!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I AM SORRY FOR ALL THESE SHORT CHAPTERS! AND I LOVE ALL THE REVIEWS! THE CHALLENGE IN THE PERVIOUS CHAPTER IS STILL UP! AAHH! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS THEY MAKE MY DAY! **

**I DON'T WANT TO SOUND GREEDY, BUT I WOULD LOVE IT IF YOU ALL REVIEWED THIS CHAPTER TOO.**

**(if you do not ship Aspen and Teresa, or you don't like smut or fluff whatever ↓↓ that is called please don't read this chapter.)**

I had promised myself I would never let anyone control me, like I had before, but I realized I can't escape, I can only be traded over and over again. It isn't good feeling owned it never is, it is something you have to live with like cancer. Controlling you choices by an invisible force, I hated being owned.

I didn't realize then that I wasn't the only person the prince owned, he had his country, his guards, his family, the rest of the selected. I felt lonely and owned, afraid to do anything rash and indescrete.

"Are you okay?" Aspen asked, he had laid down next to me in bed, our bodies weren't touching, and as much as I wanted them to, they didn't. I found myself wanting again, and if felt like all I could do is want, and want and want. Like someone had replaced all my outside emotions with want. It drove me crazy.

I could feel the Sharkey muscles in my arm clench, my skin brush against my hand, across my neck, across my face, tugging gently on my ear.

I didn't know if he understood, his face half the same thing I believed mine had, desire and want. That endless want I could never get red of unless I had him, in all senses of the word. I wanted to give myself to him, I wanted our bodies to grasp at each other, breath in each others souls and devour each others bodies.

But all I did was watch his hand slowly scrape up against my stomach, to my chest, across my body, over my hand and to my own hand, gently hovering my hand against my ear. His hands seemed to create a path of fire that seemed to burn for an infinity, I wanted that fire gone, I wanted to never feel this endless burn, I wanted him.

I felt that endless burn creep around my ear, and gently pull on it, a small act of independence. His eyes told me to stop wanting, to stop all that want that had started boiling inside of me.

They told me it was time to have.

"I want to kiss you." He said his hand slowly dropping from mine to where he held onto my face, blistered and tough, not soft like the princes.

"I want to kiss you." I said back to him, my hand that wasn't stroking his wondering around the sheets trying to find his other one.

I had promised myself, I would never loose myself to a person with green eyes, but his eyes weren't green, they were the color of want and desire, they were everything I felt, and wanted to kiss.

I couldn't find his other hand, I gave up as he used his arm to push himself above me to where are bodies stood inches from each other, the only contact was our hands, whiched burned with that endless desire, which sunk it my bones.

"May I kiss you, lady Teresa?" Asked as his body dropped lower. I found myself reaching towards him, my hands finding his hair, as they ran relentlessly threw it.

"I think the better question is when you will kiss me." I replied to him, his eyes showed a smile he couldn't play on his lips because he was to focused on something hiding inside his brain that I couldn't see.

"I'm going to kiss you now." He said bringing his lips to mine.

You never really know a kiss. Yet again you never really know anything, don't get me wrong you can understand everything, but you don't know it.

Aspen fought so hard for me to know that kiss, and I fought so hard for him to know it to. This kiss was as if life depended on it, like for once he wasn't my drug, I was his and he needed every bit of me to survive. I was his _yen fín. _He bit at my lower lip, but I fought him. Breaking away from the kiss, his hand wasn't on my face anymore, it was clenching to my waist, holding me against him, as if I could save his life. My hands had fallen down to his abdominal wall, I found myself secretly thanking his parents for creating such a god, as I kissed his eyes, and he kissed my neck. He pressed his hips into mine, and I pressed mine into his, as his mouth found mine again. He was panting, I was trying to find air for me to breath, I could never get enough air, like I could never get enough of him. He kissed me again, biting at my lower lip as his hand slide up my waist and against my stomach. I didn't fought him anymore, I just told him my story with everything I could do betweens moans and groans of pleasure. He sat up and took off his shirt, irritated with how it had gotten in between us, he threw it across the room, as if it had killed somebody he loved. My hands stayed on his abdominal wall as he looked over me, I looked up at his face full of desire.

"I thought you just wanted to kiss me." I whispered as I sat up and pushed my lips against his. His hands found the hem of my shirt, and pulled it over my head.

"I did then." He whispered into my ear, to where I was so focused on him, to where I didn't pay attention to where my shirt landed.

"I want more now."

"You can have it."

(A/n: if anyone say's something bad about Teresa, I want ya'll to know, you should keep your comments to yourself, it was her choice, as much as it was Aspen's.)


	19. Chapter 19

**time jump six weeks.**

Something about Prince Daniel told me he knew what had happened behind the closed doors with Aspen and I. It was illegal for me to lose myself in that way to anyone but him, I was owned. As much as I didn't want to I still had that feeling of love towards him, and I knew I could never break it, I would never want to. But then there was Aspen, and his ungodly beautifullness, I wanted him to be by my side for the rest of my life, our lives. But I also wanted Prince Daniel too.

The feeling of being betrayed isn't good, the feeling of betraying feels amazing in that moment of betrayal, and all you can do is focused on it, guilt swelling up inside you, making you feel sick after every meal.

"Tess." Danny said with authority as he entered my room, his shoulders up, back pinned straight, his face sorrow filled as if he had something horrible to tell me. _i was leaving. He knew._

"Danny!" Said that little girl part of me that still obeyed him, that still loved him. All of me still loved him, I can't take that back. I jumped into him, my legs straggling his hips, my lips placing kisses all over his face, that made me delirious with his handsomeness.

"I have some news." Danny said gently prying me off of him. His eyes told me everything, everything I didn't want to be true.

"I wanted to tell you before you found out tonight on the port." He said it with such sorrow.

Was he eliminating me _tonight_ on the _report?_

"Lady Marie and Lady Utopia will no longer be in the selection. I felt dumbfounded and astounded at the same time, I didn't even hear myself utter out the words that followed, because now it was just me.

"Why?" I asked, my hand clutching my heart, he had been sending off girls every three days, but he had never sent home two, my breathing was rapid and I felt dizzy, I felt _ sick._

"They were caught..." He had to stop himself, the hurt was straining his voice as he walked upon the words.

"They were caught..." The hurt was there so much, I had known he loved Lady Marie, but I didn't know he loved Lady Utopia. I felt bad for him, losing people faster than rain could wash away the top soil in a flood.

"They were caught having unlady like interactions, with each other." He spat the words out trying not to feel the pain, but it was there. He could only hope I was oblivious to it, but I wasn't.

"They betrayed the nation of Illea." His voice had gone hard again, but he had tried to speak softly. I had betrayed the nation of Illea too, but he didn't know. I must've looked as if I didn't know what he was saying, so he knelt down and cupped my face in his hand.

"They are in love with each other." He said, as if I was stupid.

"But they love you too." I said, pleading. I didn't know why I was pleading, all I knew was that I didn't want to be picked like this.

"Not like that." He said softly stroking my face with his thumb.

"Not the way I love you. And the way you love me." He said placing a kiss on my forehead, I suddenly felt in raged. And very, very angry.

"YOU ELIMINATED THEM BECAUSE THEY WERE GAY?!" I yelled as I sat up, clutching onto my stomach because it squeezed as I did, making me want to throw up.

"No, Tess. I eliminated them because they betrayed me." He said as he took me back into his arms patting the top of my head, I felt that pain of guilt run to me again.

I had betrayed him too.

But it was so much fun.

But I betrayed him.

Aspen.

Danny.

"I love you." I said resting my hands on his shoulders. He smiled a weary smile and gave me a kiss.

"I love you too." I gave him a kiss.

"I'll say yes." I said as I nibbled on his ear, causing him to moan like Aspen had. I don't know how to explain how I feel, that sudden rush of fear running through me.

There was no boundaries in between me and Aspen, I could be creating life inside me right now, it's only been a week since the last time Aspen and I had, but it's been a month and a half since the first time I betrayed Danny.

I could be, that would explain...oh my gods.

"I want you." I whispered into his ear, and he shivered his body growing tense against mine.

"I thought you were angry with me." He whispered against my neck before gently kissing it, which made my knees give out, letting me fall against him as he laid me onto the bed.

"Something has to keep it interesting." I whispered, unable to get my voice above it, I didn't know how I was able to even whisper. He was an expert at making girls swoon, which meant he had probably, he would know.

"Are you a..." I started the question and he stopped me with a kiss.

" Yes, I am." I felt the tension leave me, my stomach unwrapped itself and slowly, I gave into him. I gave him, everything a wife should.

He proposed to me on the report that night. I faked my surprise as I started crying, repeating word yes over and over again.

"Officer Leger." I said as the guards had started packing up my things from my room to move me into the princess suite.

"Lady Teresa." He bowed, a sense of anger in his voice. I tugged my ear, but he didn't reply. I tugged my ear again, he set down the box he was carrying and tugged his.

Relief, fear, and happiness ran through me.

We met in my room, my old room. It was dark now, abandoned.

"Aspen?" I whispered as I slowly entered it, the balcony doors were open, a slight wind blowing threw them.

The door closed behind me, the light clicked on. Aspen pressed me against the door, my back hitting the doorknob, as much as I wanted to kiss him I couldn't.

"Aspen!" I said as his hand roamed down my shirt and onto the back of my jeans.

"Feel" he whispered his voice low and husky, oh how I wanted him.

"I'm pregnant." I blurted out. He stepped back words and ran a hand threw his hair.

He smiled.

"Is it?" He asked a smile growing wider on his face as he started to, I never thought I would actually say this, glow.

"Teresa!" He nearly shouted as he picked me up and spun me in the air, I clenched my stomach as I started to feel sick. He set me down immediately.

" Are you? Is it. Are you both okay?" He asked his hand placed protectivlly on my stomach where the baby should be. I giggled and nodded my head.

" I'm fine, Aspen." I said as he knelt down and asked my stomach if it to, was fine, and placed his ear on it for a response. He closed his eyes and nodded his head as if agreed with what it was saying.

"He say's I must kiss you to make everything better." He said standing in front of me, his hands around my waist.

"Him?" I asked he just nodded his head as he leaned down.

"Him." He whispered, and then he kissed me.

You never know the kiss, until you have it. That kiss takes all the love out of the world and slams it at you.

That was this kiss, so full of love I nearly melted into a puddle on the floor. I started crying as he broke away.

"What's wrong. Ter?" He said pulling me into his chest, he was sooo tall.

"What are we going to do?" I asked him, tears bubbling out of me as if I was a waterfall.

"I mean I don't even know for sure, is there like a test I can take?" I asked him my hands on his chest he exhaled and kissed my head.

"I'll get you one, and if you are, we'll run away. We will live happily out of the palace out of illea." He said his lips still on my forehead. He was kind as I went through all my crying.

The next morning Cat gave me the test.

"Officer Leger said you requested one." She said handing it to me in the hallway. I blushed furiously.

"I never thought the prince had it in him." She shruuged and walked away.

It was negative, I was upset, even though I knew Aspen would be okay with it, I was sad. I wanted that future with Aspen, I had betrayed him for that future.

I took the test again six weeks after the first one.

It was positive.


	20. Chapter 20

I didn't know if Aspen or Prince Daniel was the father, both chances were equally possible. But some tiny part of me was hoping it was Danny's, he was so sad, and then the smallest things word make him angry, or worse, he would freeze in fear. Sometimes I would wake up, hearing a scream from the Prince's room. just like right now.

I crawled out of bed my feet awkwardly swollen and my knees a little shaky. I wiped my eyes and walked to the door, and opened it. Prince Daniel was rolling around in the sheets, screaming from a bad dream. His hair plastered to his face with sweat, his hands going everywhere on the bed, his closed eyes moving franticly.

"Danny." I exhaled as I crawled under the covers and pulled his overly warm body next to mine. His heart was racing, faster than anyone's heart should be.

"Danny, it's just a dream." I said kissing the top of his head as I pulled him closer to me, running my hand over his hair.

"Danny. Wake up." It hurt me to see him like this, ever since the last rebel attack he hasn't been the same.

"Tess?" Danny huffed as his eyes slowly opened, adjusting to the dark.

"Tess." He said bringing his lips against mine, his kiss was sloppy, but it was still his kiss, and it reminded me of our first one.

"I'm here Danny, don't worry it was just a dream." I said as he broke away from the kiss and rested his head on my chest.

"Tess." He breathed, his hand rubbing my stomach. He had put Aspen to shame after I told him. The whole kingdom of Illea was in a peaceful state between the wedding and the baby, and the departure of Princess Amelia.

"Danny, I know something happened. Just tell me what happened. Why do you keep having these night terrors?" I asked him in between kissing his face, it seemed to calm him down, the baby and mine presense, he was always scared when we were not right next to him, and he always kept a protective arm on me. Making it hard to see Aspen.

"Just don't leave me, Tess. Okay? Just don't leave." He said before he kissed me, drawing in every emotion he had, and then stabbing it right into me, it was as if an immense fear was burning threw my veins, I could feel his body become less tense above mine, as he kissed me, my hands traveling threw his ungodly blond hair. He always knew what to do with his hands, they were at my waist or groping my chest, but today he just left them on my abdomen, as if he was protecting it. He pulled away from the kiss and wrapped his arms around my, placing his head between my chin and my chest. He fell asleep, and I did shortly after.

Danny drools in his sleep. It isn't the best thing to wake up to, it also isn't best to wake up with a giddy feeling and a very strong craving for deep fried peanut butter covered pickles, Danny was still sleeping, his face very much more peaceful than it was before, his hand still on my abdomen.

"Ter?" Aspen said as he entered the room, every time I saw him he looked hurt, but he understood that I didn't know who the father of my kid was, and that Danny needed me, but the hurt still clawed at his face.

"Aspen, good morning." I said with a smile on my face, his face instantly warmed with happiness as I giggled at his name. It felt so funny to say.

Aspen, As-pen, Asp-en, A-spen, Aspen.

There was so many ways to say his name, my brain ran with them.

"Princess Maureen wants to say goodbye, before she leaves. And the queen wants to discuss the wedding with you." He said, with a light chuckle in his voice, but I couldn't help but think. Princess Maureen never wanted to talk with me before. I looked up from sleeping Danny to catch Aspen tugging his ear, which I replied to, and he left.

Have I mentioned that body?

Oh my gods.

"Danny, Danny, Danny!" I said pushing on his shoulder, he took his time slowly opening his eyes and giving me a kiss, which I dug into, my hands on his chest, his on my stomach. The craving for deep fried peanut butter covered pickles hit me again.

"Tess." He breathed his warmth soaking into my neck as he kissed there.

"Good morning my Tess." He said as he placed a kiss on my collar bone, I let out a small moan as he did so, but my mind started racing.

_deep friend peanut butter pickles, __deep friend peanut butter pickles, __deep friend peanut butter pickles, and deep fried peanut butter pickles._

My stomach groaned, and Danny noticed it's dying wallrus noise.

"Are you hungry?" He asked as he moved away from my neck, his body still hanging over mine.

"No, I just really, really want deep fried peanut butter covered pickles." I said as I kissed him.

"Your wish is my command." He said giving me another kiss, and then leaving to get dressed and order my food.

"FOOD, FOOD, FOOD, FOOD, FOOD!" my stomach sang. I got dressed my maids had talked me into wearing dresses again, and so I was in a rosary pink pregnancy gown, even though I am only two months along.

"Someone is here to see you, by the way, you look beautiful." Danny said as he entered my room. I smiled at him as I pulled my hair up and into a bun. It amazed him I was able to do this.

"Who?" I asked as he strode in, a new not so scary step in his walk, I couldn't help but think he was getting better.

"It's a surprise." He whispered and kissed me. His breath smelled and tasted of, wait for it, but you are not going to believe this, deep fried peanut butter covered pickles.

"You have food!" My stomach gasped, as I said it he smiled and walked me out to the dining area were his sister was kissing everyone goodbye.

"I'm so sorry about Tom, I should've never slept with him, I'm so sorry." She said over and over again.

"It's alright. You couldn't have known." I said giving her a hug. My stomach was too busy screaming for food that I had forgotten everything that happened, I couldn't help but think back at who that guy was, besides some obvious creep, I went back to thinking about deep fried peanut butter cover pickles.

"You're going to hate it." Princess Maureen said as she rubbed her stomach, which once held a child, but she had miss carried it the same day I had fell off the roof.

The prince of england was going to marry her now.

"Hate what?" I asked, as my nose sniffed out the food behind her, why wouldn't she just move?

"Being pregnant. Constant mood swings, the food cravings, irritating things, swollen feet, and the worst morning sickness, but that goes away after awhile." She said giving me a hug.

"I'll be back for your wedding, we will get to know each other better. Goodbye Teresa, and please help my brother." She said giving me a hug, and then walking off to say goodbye to someone else. I went to the food.

It tasted horrible, to any normal person, but to me it was heaven.

I later found myself wondering the halls, my hands tracing over the portraits of the now deceased royal families, I stumbled upon America and Max on again, and just stared at them, the amount of happiness in that picture overwhelmed me. I started to cry.

"Ter?" Said the footsteps that approached as I felt Aspen wrap his arms around my waist.

"Ter, are you okay?" He asked as he gently squeezed me, I let out a small laugh in between my sobs.

"They look so happy!" I said pointing at the picture.

"I was named after their kid you know." He said, and I turned around to where I looked up at him.

"Teresa meet Aspen, Aspen meet Teresa." He said placing a kiss on my cheek, and then wiping away the tears.

"You smell like flowers, were you in the garden?" I asked him. My brain was to busy bouncing from one topic to the next I didn't notice the rose he took out from his pocket.

"For you." He said with a kiss, as he pulled out a little daisy.

"And for you." He said too my stomach.

"Thank you." I said to him, and he gave me a quick kiss, as foot steps started approaching.

"I have to go, I'll see you later." He said and jogged down the hall. I tugged my ear and he smiled.

I walked around for another hour until I stumbled upon Danny's study.

"I can see why she likes you so much!" Danny laughed.

"I.. Mmmee..ta.t..too, Pynce...Dan..I..el.." I heard. The other voice was shaky inconsistent and could barely make the sentence, my heart fluttered as I opened the door.

"ELIAS!" I shouted as I gave him a hug.

Elias was the nicest of my Gregory family, yet again he was slow, so he didn't understand everything that happened, but during my childhood, he was the only friend I had.

Elias did his lopsided smile as I hugged him, he wasn't dead. I was so happy, he wasn't dead.

"Pynce Dan.."

"You can call my whatever is easiest." Danny said, as I sat down on his lap, and he gave me a quick kiss.

"D say's..I'm...gin..be. !" He shouted the last word, he had never been able to say a lot of words, my mother had also given him SBS (shaken baby syndrome) after he had cried for a long amount of time.

"You are, Elias, you are." I said rubbing my stomach.

Now matter who the dad of my kid was, I was happy that Elias could still be the godfather, and the uncle.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/n: I am sorry for the super long time it took to update, I was grounded and I didn't know what else to write. Anyways I would love some reviews...and I love the reviews I have already gotten.**

**I so badly want to tell you all who the dad is, but I can't...**

**You all should tell me your guesses!**

Unlike me Elias liked the horses.

He also liked my maid Haylee. I could see it in his face as they talked when she cleaned my room. Cat gagged, and Bonite was to busy rambling on about something. The last rebel attack took out something from her soul.

"Haylee, Elias can you go get me something to eat?" I asked them, I was working on month three of my pregnancy, and I was always hungry.

All the maids and Elias left.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" I yelled and the door opened, Aspen stood there. Sweat on his brow like he had been running.

"We have a few minutes." He said as he scooped me into his arms and began to kiss me passionately. I couldn't control myself around Aspen sometimes, my hands when be in his hair, on his waist, while my body burned itself to death, and it always felt right, as if I was supposed to be there, as if we were not one thing time could change and brake us apart, as if time had to change for us.

I love Aspen.

"I love you." He whispered against my neck as he laid me on my bed, his hands unlike mine, were everywhere, uncontrolled, as if he was quickly putting my body into his memory, memorizing me.

"I..I love you." I moaned back. I had this urge, clawing out of my most sacred parts, craving him. My body full of lust, my brain lingering on every touch.

"Aspen." I gasped.

"Ter." He whispered, his hot breath falling against my skin, making me shiver and him smirk.

"I'll see you later." He said kissing my forehead and then my lips. He kneeled down next to my beginning to swell stomach.

"You too." He said and then kissed it.

"What?" I said, my body still on hyperactive mode from his previous actions, I craved them, I craved more.

"I have a shift, I have to go." He said as he walked out the door, stopping before closing it.

"I love you." He said as he tugged his ear.

"I love you." I replied with the same jester.

It was always horrible when Aspen left, I would feel sick, as if some part of my heart left with him, and I would always have to sit down, because I was dizzy. But some other part deep down in my soul screamed at me for letting him go.

"Tttt..rtt?" I looked up from my spot on the floor, Elias was holding a tray of food in his hands, it smelled delicious, but I wasn't hungry.

"Y..o...ur...cry..ng?" He said still standing up as if he didn't want to sit down, as if it hurt him to sit down, and it probably did, and it was probably my fault.

Am I?" I asked running the back of my hand against my face.

"What...t's wrung?" He said setting the tray of food down on the bedstand and bending over to help me up from the floor.

"It's the hormones." I said and he looked at me as if he was an idiot.

"Don't lie." He said his voice strong for once in his life, I had to teach him that, the don't lie, he used to run around telling tall tales about the rabbit hole in the back yard, as if he was Alice in Wonderland, I guess in a way, I ruined his childhood.

"I don't know what to do, Elias, everything is just so complicated, and I ruined it all, I don't,t know what to do!" I shouted, my throat burning with the sudden anger in me, I was upset, more than upset I was furious.

"Wh...AAT...hep..and?" Elias asked running small circles on my back.

"Elias." I huffed, leaning into his chest, the warmth of him comforting me.

"T" he replied, completely.

"Elias." I replied.

"T, sometimes it's better to watch and not be. You're okay, trust me, I,be seen worse these past weeks." I was astounded by his complete ion of words, something told me he had been practicing them.

"When did you get smart?" I asked him, playfully hitting his shoulder, to which he winced.

"Sorry!" I imaditly said, and he chuckled, gave me a kiss on the forehead and left. No goodbye.

The wedding was going to be next week, because they didn't want me to be too swollen and walking down the aisle, so I had agreed on next week Thursday to marry Danny, and next week Friday to meet with Aspen and his pet hamster "Hamlet". I didn't know the guards could have pets, but yet again I have seen that awful fish, it shouldn't surprise me about the hamster "Hamlet"

There was a knock on the door, sending Elias into the air, he picked up the tray of food and gave it to me.

"Goodbye sister, I will see you at dinner." He bowed and left, letting Prince Daniel enter behind him, nodding as he walked away.

"Tess..." Danny said as he sat down beside me on the bed, I had started eating the food, my stomach stopped growling at me, and was now dancing with the food inside it. I lifted my finger up to tell him "let me finish chewing" he looked at me and just waited.

"Danny." I huffed as if chewing food was a big effort, which surprisingly it was.

"How was your day?" I asked him, putting the tray on the bedstand.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked, staring into my eyes, I don't know what he see's in them, or me at this point. I'm a bloated, hobbit footed girl at the moment.

"If yo..." He kissed me, laying me back against the mattress, the bed groaning under our weight. My hands tangled into his hair, and his held onto my chest.

"You're beautiful." He whispered.

"You just like that my boobs are bigger." I whispered and he broke away from kissing behind my earlobe, oh my gods I missed that.

"It's a plus." He smiled. It felt like he hadn't smiled since forever.

"Stop staring at them." I gushed.

"I can't." He smiled, I giggled a little trying to release my fear that he wouldn't like the bloated me.

"There just like 'HEY LOOK AT ME!' and I just have to." He smiled kissing me again.

"You don't have to, you just want to." I whispered as he broke away for air.

"Are we always going to talk like this, when were doing this?" He asked, leaning back down to kiss me, but I had a better idea.

"We don't have to talk." I said, my fingers playing at the top button of his shirt.

"We don't, your right." He smiled, and tried leaning back down to kiss me but I kept pushing him up, unbuttoning the top three buttons.

"What are you..."

"Shh...don't talk." I whispered, as the last button popped open, I pushed back his shirt, lightly kissing from his jaw to his collar bone and back up behind his ear.

"I never want to talk again." He muttered. I turned my head to the side trying to hide my blush. I felt sick when I did, I had that sudden urge to throw up.

Aspen stood in the doorway of my room, his guard outfit wasn't on, he was in everyday clothes. The light from behind him highlighted his shoulders and hair, making him look like a weeping angel. He set down the flowers he had been holding in the vase by the door and walked away, he looked so hurt.

So hurt that it made me want to cry, again.


	22. Chapter 22

**i don't know if anyone has figured this out yet, but Teresa is now four months pregos, that means that from three chapters ago that every chapter she has aged a month, and in five more chapters this fan fiction has the unfortunate ending with an added epilogue. **

**I love you all, thanks for reading.**

I thought I looked like an overstuffed chicken, in the first wedding dress the queen had me try on. I didn't t know that it had been hers. But in the end I bought a nice white sequiened top, with a floor length "ege shell" colored bottom, that happily went over the baby bump, which had grown considerably, and fell to the floor.

I wasn't yet pregnant, pregnant looking. I just looked like someone whose stomach had started bloating, and it honestly didn't make me feel any better about myself. But Danny still loved me, and Aspen still kissed me goodnight and gave a flower to the baby everyday.

He had changed his mind on the baby being a boy, it was now, in fact, a girl.

I didn't know why I kept thinking about Aspen as I walked down the aisle to my awaiting husband, Prince Daniel Shreave, with Elias walking me down, foot after foot, the soft click of my feet falling onto the carpeted floor.

But I felt giddy, and absolutely outrageous. I couldn't help but smile, I am marrying Prince Daniel at this very moment, pregnancy and all. His face was everything I had imagined it to be. Carefree and full of that worried excitement all soon to be dad's had. My stomach rumbled as my nose caught the scent of the three layered choclete icing cake, that had been ordered in from Germany, it was bound to be delicious.

"Who gives this women, Teresa Gregory, to this man, Daniel Schreave?" Asked the preiest as I arrived at my final destination.

The place were all men's hopes of sleeping around the world come to die.

"I d..do." Elias stumbled, his face the poster for pure happiness.

"You may say your goodbyes." The priest smiled. Elias gave me a kiss on each side of my face, and a gigantic hug.

I smiled and took ,y place beside Danny, my hands in his, the whole country of Illeà watching, even the rebels.

"You're wearing a dress." Danny said as the priest rambled on about something.

"What else was I supposed to wear? A dish cloth?" He smiled.

"One day, young grasshopper, you will." He smiled, I tried to retain my laugh, and Aspen stood at the door, his face twisted in discomfort.

"Danny." I huffed and his face was overtaken by a grin.

"I thought you would show up in a pants suit. Mother said you had difficulties finding a dress."

"I looked like a chicken in hers."

"You mist of looked like an adorable chicken." He smiled, the priest held out something to me, which I gladly took into my hands.

There was a clatter at the other side of the room, and I felt myself jump out from my shoes.

"Sorry,sorry." Aspen said as he picked up his sword, which hand fallen from his grasp. I couldn't help but giggle.

"Please recite your vows." The priest smiled down at me. He seemed very zen like for a christen.

"I, Teresa Gregory, have never had the chance of meeting someone as wonderful as you. I had never met someone who would stop the world in order to save me, someone who would get so emotional over one imperfect flaw in reality. Or a person that could eat a whole plate of frog legs in less than a minute. But I have had the awesomeness of being given this chance to marry such a wonderful man like you, that I could never meet another person like you again, you have ruined every other man in this world for me Danny, you've ruined every love story, every tragic romance. I love you Danny, and I'all love you for infinity." I smiled, he was coming close to tears, his face a bright red as he moved to wipe his nose on his sleeve.

"And you Prince Daniel, please recite your vows." He said taking the object from me and giving it to him.

"Tess. Oh my wonderful Tess. There is an infinite amount of things I must tell you, and an infinite amount of things you remain oblivious to, and thank the god I am not one of them. Because once upon a time I had thought that in this world there was an infinite amount of things that mattered, and I had the unfortunatence of not being one of them, and then I met you, and everything about you screamed at me that you were the one, and you were perfect, and with every piece of you that you give me I feel as if I cut my body in half and give it to you. Because I love you Tess, with all my heart and all my body, because Tess I was not wrong with all of my thoughts. There is an infinite amount of things in this world, and I only matter if I am with you. I love you Tess." Everyone at this moment was crying, even me, and possibly the baby. No one had told me such a thing before, no one had told me that there was an infinite amount of things in this world that mattered and didn't because I believed that everything did matter, and for someone to believe something else, someone that I love to believe that there are things that do and don't matter, I felt my heart shatter.

I wanted to run towards Aspen.

Towards someone who believed the same thing as me.

Towards someone who gave flowers to a kid he didn't even know if it was his.

Towards a world of infinite possibilities.

But I was already in it, I had just been swimming it it's ocean of nothingness long enough to realize that I hadn't cared before, that everything I felt then was fake.

I loved Aspen.

I loved Danny.

I loved Elias.

But I loved myself more, and this child more.

"I can't marry you." I whispered, and everyone fell silent.

"What?" Danny asked, his face growing pale.

"I can't marry you, Danny. I'm sorry, I just, I just..."

"You what? You what?! Tess?" Danny asked, wiping away invisible tears from ,y face, I hadn't known that I had started crying a fresh batch of tears,

"I don't know if this is your kid." I said half to him, half to the world.

"Who else could it be?"

"TESS? WHOSE CHILD COULD THAT ALSO BE?" Danny had started to grow angry, his face had gone from red with embarrassed, to red with fury. I didn't see Danny latxh onto my arms, I didn't fell the threat of his hands shaking me.

"LET HER GO!" Aspen yelled as he ran towards the oncoming disaster that had threaten to happen.

And the world gasped. Taking in all the air from me, and draining my body of whatever it may have contained as a rebel alarm shrieked inside and out of the castle, the holler of a gun exploding in my back.

I live in a world.

And this is my prize.


	23. Chapter 23

**sorry, super short chapter. Going through something's right now. won't be able to post that much, probably.**

**Enjoy.**

I have never liked funerals.

Especially ones where a loved one is being buried, and consumed into this world.

Aspen.

Aspen, Aspen, Aspen.

He's gone.

Wondered into the inevitable, consumed into that world of nothingness.

A place most people say is dark, even though he did nothing but shine.

I

Love

You

Aspen,

It

Was

Not

Your

Time

To

Leave.

"Please welcome Prince Daniel and Princess Teresa, for the welcoming of their new married ship!" Said the announcer, but now matter how long I keep putting this off, I will walk out their, arm in arm, with Danny.

"You don't have to do this right now Tess." Danny say's as he pushes back a strand of hair.

"I have to." I smile and cup his hand against my face.

I can't be Teresa Leger.

I can be Teresa Schreave.

It is getting hard to walk now, and I find myself silently cursing my womanhood because I was not made to carry babies, its exhausting and I really just want to curl back up in Danny and I's bed and fall asleep. But I walk out, arm in arm, foot in front of foot, hand rubbing overly grown stomach.

"Hello!"

"Hi." I huff the announcer is too overly happy, he acts as if we never lost Aspen.

"Hello." Danny say's as he sits me down in the chair that was comfortably waiting for me.

"Welcome to the royal family, how does it feel?"

"Wonderful.". At least one thing can make me happy.

I love you, Danny.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/n: Teresa did not get shot. Just to clear that up. She unfortunately witnessed Aspen's death as he jumped in front of her, to stop or lessen the impact of the bullet into entering Teresa. She is now marrying Danny because He has accepted the fact that it may and or may not be his child, she no longer has that conflicting love interest, to where she is now completely devastated by the loss of Aspen that she has re-found comfort in Danny.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter.**

It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. Listen to me when I say this, never, never get pregnant at a young age, it s painful, you have no clue where you'll be in one second you're super high, the next you just cry,a lot. AND THE PAIN! By the angel! I have been stuck into bed rest, and I am not allowed to do anything, I can only find the comfort that I usually seek in a book in the arms of Danny, or as always in a book. BUT IF MY MAIDS WEREN'T ALWAYS OFF GOSSIPING * COUGH,COUGH* CAT *COUGH* I WPULD ACTUALLY HAVE ONE!

Never go cold turkey on books, it's pain full. And the feels, gods they're horrid. I've never been so depraved of a book before in my life. Sure I've gone with out food, dude I want food. Tell me I didn't just say dude. Save me.

I want some food.

Food, food, food, food.

""SOMEONE? IS ANYONE OUT THERE?" I screamed really loud, I think someone heard me. Hopefully I woke the dead. Aspen would surely get me food, and a book.

Aspen.

THE HORMONES!

I'm not crying, no that isn't happening. I'm not crying, no,no,no,no.

I AM NOT CRYING.

yeah, I am. I'm crying like a baby whale, that really wants food and a book.

"Tess?" Daniel say's breathy as if he had just run across the palace.

"You're crying." He says sitting next to me. His thumbs wiping away my tears.

"What's wrong." He asks, gently kissing what I assume must be red splotches on my face.

"ASPEN'S DEAD!" I will, okay not wail, more perodactyle screech.

"I know, I know. It's okay. He's somewhere better now." He say's his fingers tangling in my hair, as he gently kisses every spot on my face replacing sorrow with tingles.

"He probably has food." I sniffle, turning away from Danny and towards the window, letting the chilly breeze wipe across my overly warm face.

"Have you eaten yet?" Concerned concentrated his voice.

"I would have IF CAT BROUGHT ME ANY!" I shout, clearly upset. And hungry...

"I'm here, gosh. You leave for twenty minutes..." She exhaled as she FINALLY graced us with her presence. She sat the food down, smiled, and left.

"Prince." She said as she began to leave.

"Princess." And she left.

Leaving me and Danny _alone._

My thoughts had suddenly changed from wanting food into wanting him.

But the food called to me faster.

And so did the pain.

"Danny!" I said shocked as my stomach started to hurt, and little round curves of skin started moving on my stomach, scaring me near to death.

"DAnny!" I said as the pain hit me again. Danny came running from the shower where he left after I had received the food.

"DANNY IT'S TRYING TO CLAW IT'S WAY OUT! DANNY! DANNY, DANNY! HELP!" I screamed, helpless to the pain that radiated from it.

"You're adorable." Danny said as he put his hand over my stomach where the lumps had appeared and dissapeared. He looked at me, brown eyes flecked with gold that held that amazement that came with father hood. He chuckled at me. I must of had my eyes wide because that felt overwhelmingly large, and dry.

"The baby is just kicking calm down." He said reasurringly, giving me light little kisses.

I felt that want again. That want that made me forget about Aspen.

"It hurts." I said putting my hand over his face.

"You're adorable." He said, lightly teasing my lips with his.


	25. Chapter 25

"Danny..." I whisper into his ear as he sleeps. I brush against his neck with my finger tips, he twitches but stays asleep.

"Danny." I whisper again, thinking back to all the wonderful things he has shared even though I know he is still hiding some.

"Danny." I whisper against his neck, he opens his eyes and grabs at my hands, nearly unable to find from the space between mine and his.

"Tess?" He asks his voice thick with sleep, his golden brown eyes clouded in that astonishing thing I can never seem to reach. Oh how I wish I could sleep.

"Are you okay Tess?" He asks running his hand over my swollen stomach sending tingles all over my body.

"No Danny." I whisper back to him, my nose gently rubbing his, my eyes closed as i lightly brush my lips against his.

"Not yet." I said slowly leaning in to kiss him, his face smirking as my hands curled themselves around his neck and pis pulled at my waist.

"I love you." Danny whispered against my lips pulling at my waist more. My belly touched his and he smiled breaking away from the kiss to lean down at kiss the top of it.

"Our little angel." Danny said rubbing my stomach in small circles. It was soothing to have him so close, it lulled the baby to sleep, calming the pain.

"Our little angel." I said rubbing my hand over his. He kept smiling with that stupid grin of his, it was contagious, I couldn't help but giggle. His warm arms pulling me close to him, his nose digging into the side of my neck as cuddled into me.

"Go to sleep Tess, and go to sleep our angel." He said still rubbing my stomach, as if for good luck. Some part of me knew he was wishing it was his.

I felt that pull that sometimes came along with sleep. I knew this was only happening because Danny told me to.

The sun is evil. I would love to live in this little infinite moment of Danny and I with the baby safely tucked away inside me, the world at peace with itself for once.

"Ughhhhh..." I moaned as the sun broke through the window, and I attempted a roll over but Danny caught me before I could.

"Tess you can't leave." He said his arm secure around my waist.

"But I must, the world calls to me!" I said, my mind quietly thinking about the library.

"You mean the library." He smirked, smashing his head back into the pillow the sun casting an angelic glow against him.

He looked like one of the covers to the "historic romances" and I couldn't wait until I could flip the pages...

"Ughhhh..." He groaned.

"What?" I asked sitting up in the bed, wincing from a rush of pain in my abdomen. His hand grabbed mine and I squeezed his hand letting him try to feel it but he didn't even wince.

"Danny." I wined against the pain and he hurriedly sat up next to me calling for the guards.

"You should get some clothes on." By the grace of god I managed to say those words before Elias came running in with a doctor behind him.

"T?" Elias asked.

I blacked out that way, my half-brothers smile haunting my dreams.

He was too much like a Gregory, it scared me past my breaking point.

I don't want my child beside a full blooded Gregory.

Elias would have to go.

.

.

My dream wasn't as good as I thought it would be, but it wasn't as bad either.

_I was sitting in the middle of a flower garden, braiding the hair of a blond haired girl, while flower petals fell down around us. She looked so much like Daniel it shocked me._

_"Mommy?" The girl spoke, her voice was soft, full of innocence. I didn't know if she was talking about me, to me, but I answered anyway._

_"Yes dear?" I replied my hand reaching up and pulling a flower from the sky and braiding it into my daughters hair._

_"It's beautiful isn't it?" She asked, sighing as she did._

_I looked around the garden, roses, grapes, tulips, Daisy's, and all other magnificent beautiful flowers sprouting from the earths floor._

_"It is." I said turning back my attention to her hair._

_"It's a shame Aspen and Father believe differently." She said, sighing as she did so._

_"Here comes Hazel." She said as I pulled another flower and put it into her hair. A little girl with dirty blond hair came running up to us yelling as she did so._

_" Mommy,Mommy, Mommy!" She smiled her arms waving in the air._

_"It's the bad people." She screamed as I saw the things she was running from._

_"Annabeth, Hazel follow me!" I said grabbing my daughters hand and picking up Hazel._

_ I ran with them, away from the rebels, but every step I took foreword would have been just as good back word._

_"Mommy I can't run anymore." The girl whined as she tripped and fell._

_"Hurry, hurry." I said trying to help her up._

_"We have to go." I said as we started running again but the castle kept running further and further back._

_"We won't get there in time!" She complained nearly falling again to where I had to pick her up and carry her too._

_"Tess!" I could hear Danny screaming_

_"Tess!" He yelled again._

_And then I felt the world shake._

"Tess! Tess!" Danny said as he shook me.

"Don't shake her." Cat snapped at him as she walked in, a bowl of hot water in her hands.

"Tess!" He said finally looking at me.

"You're awake." He sighed, his mouth shortly covering mine.

The hospital was horrible, it smelled like overkill on the cleaning solution. I didn't like it, and neither did the baby, which made me angry.

I scrunched my face against his.

"What's wrong?" He asked pulling away from me. His hand protectively on my stomach.

"We don't like it here." I said, hiding my face from the putrid smell.

"Okay we will get you moved." He said his hand still on my stomach the other pushing my hair out of my face. I felt a wave of nausea and threw up over the side of the bed.

"We will get you out right now." He said, Cat started calling for a doctor.

"I don't feel so well." I stated turning my head over the side again, waiting for whatever I had digested to come back up.

"I'm so sorry Tess." Danny said pulling my hair away from my face.

"It's okay." I said. I had the feeling that I sounded like I was crying, I felt like I should be even though I was not.

"I just want it out of me." I cried, and Danny rubbed my shoulder.

"I know, my Tess, I know."

**A/n: Should I write another fanfiction?**


	26. Chapter 26

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY DANNY I AM GETTING THIS THING OUT NOW!" I yelled at him, standing up for the hour I could.

"DO NOT TOUCH THE CAKE!" He yelled back at me, running from the shower, the towel hanging loosely around his waist.

Ermergherd... Someone has been working out, and doesn't deserve cake...

"Okay..." I said as I fell back down onto the bed, and he walked back into the bathroom probably to put some cloths back on. No!

"CAT! CAT GET ME SOME CAKE!" I yelled but she most likely wouldn't hear me, she was off on holiday.

"Tess,you have to wait until it is fully cooked!" Danny said from the bathroom.

"It's just a suggestion not a requirement." I said back to him. I doubted He heard me as I attempted to run to the stove that the servants had so kindly put into our room so Danny would have the pleas entries of smelling cooking food.

"DON'T TOUCH IT!" Danny yelled stepping out of the bathroom.

"But!"

"No!"

"I I just!"

"No"

He unhappily walked me back over to the wheelchair, the baby is due in a matter of days. And I can't wait.

"Just..."

"No." He said sitting me down and pushing the hair out of my face, and tying it back.

"Awesomesauce." I said sitting down.

Ding.

"CAKE!" I yelled standing up as I did. Danny gently pushed me back down and told me to wait.

I don't know if I can wait, I mean it's food, something I've been using to hide the pain from losing Aspen.

"Here you go." Danny said as he put a slice of cake on my face, crumbs falling everywhere.

"DANNY!" I yell unable to do anything else.

"Live." He kisses my forehead.

"With." He kisses my nose.

"It." He kisses my lips.

"Cake?" I ask when he breaks away.

"Here you go." He says magically pulling out another slice from behind his back, setting it down in front of me.

"Thanks." I whisper as I carefully take a bite.

I love cake.

And deep fried peanut butter covered pickles.


	27. Chapter 27

"How do you feel?" Elias's girlfriend Haylle asked. I didn't really want to tell him or Haylee that he had to leave, he had been so kind to me, but those eyes. Those awful Gregory eyes.

"I feel like a nine month pregnant person." I smiled at them. They were holding each others hands like any other happy couple.

"Whh...wwheree...is..Dan?" Elias asked, looking at the empty chair beside me. Danny had gone off to New Asia to discuss a treaty, he is trying to end the war with less death and more peace. He belongs in amity.

"Elias, I told you." Haylee said, playfully hitting his shoulder. Elias laughed and took ahold of her other hand. The red cushions on their chairs seemed awfully comfy compared to my wheelchair. Plus they could get up and go places, I had to wait until someone came along and pushed me, any physical exercise and the doctor was afraid I would pop.

"Oh."

"Do you want anything?" Haylee asked, not looking away from Elias but talking to me.

"I want this baby out of me." I laughed and so did Haylee but she didn't turn to look at me.

She was lost in those eyes.

Those awful Gregory eyes.

I don't know what has happened to me to make me suddenly so afraid of the Gregory's again. Danny said that it is because I am almost about to have a kid, and it's normal to be afraid that I will become like them. Danny keeps promising we won't become our parents. All I can do is pray.

"Do you guys want to be left alone?" I felt incredibly intrusive in their moment. Even though they and an infinite amount of moments between them, each and everyone seemed so special for them, as if they could never have enough moments.

"No..no..no. it's fine." Haylee said turning towards me.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine." I replied, my hands were feeling a little clamy, and the baby kept doing flips inside me. I was starting to feel sick.

"You're really pale."

"I'm...oh my gods I think I just peed my pants." I said looking down at myself.

Elias had the balls to laugh.

"Elias!" Haylee scolded him. He went quiet. Good Haylee.

"Let me help you."Haylee said looking at me, my hands felt sweatier and the baby was moving, and my brain decided to go on an endorphin run.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!" I screamed.

"You're in labor!" Haylee screamed bouncing up and down. I looked up at her, still screaming. If eyes could kill I would have chopped her into five million pieces and feed her to a bunch of hungry lion fish, and then killed those and gave them to three year olds, wrapped in lollipop wrappers.

"GET IT OUT!" The back flips the baby had been doing now started to hurt with an immense pain, I want this baby out. Now.

"WE HAVE TO TELL DANNY!" Haylee bounced up and down clapping her hands. Elias looked at me with a face full of shock.

"D...octor?" Elias asked, still sitting down.

"Oh...yeah...I guess so." Haylee said, as she started walking out, leaving me behind.

"I'll take you." Elias managed to say as he stood up and started pushing me towards the hospital wing.

I just kept screaming.

I didn't know what it was about being in labor, I was in pain, lots of pain, but I felt this eerie high, as if I was trying to be distracted. I kept seeing Danny smiling at me in my minds eye but I knew he was far away. He didn't want to go, not with me being as far along as I was, and his mothers grieving but our numbers were getting low. It is sign a treaty or become a slave state.

"Prince Daniel is on his way, it should take a few hours before he gets here." Said one of the nurses as Elias finally got me to the hospital room. It seemed to take eternity until we got there, but something told me it was worth the wait.

My doctor was an asshat.

"We have to wait she isn't ready yet." He said.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN? I WANT THIS THING OUT!" I had yelled at him, very unladylike.

"T." Elias said squeezing my hand.

"It hurts." I whined to him, my eyes finding his and awkwardly finding comfort in them.

It didn't matter then. The fact that his eyes were so similar to those of the people that would lock me in my room, starve me, and do horrid things. It didn't matter that he was only my half brother, it didn't matter that he was a Gregory. All that mattered was that he didn't care what I did. He just looked at me and understood. I had saved him once, he was doing all he could to save me.

The doctor walked away from us and Elias bent down and whispered into my ear about something I had already forgotten.

"The man on the roof." He whispered.

"It was Dad."

I screamed.

The doctor came back, rechecked my vitals asked if I was okay and left.

"I'm sorry T." Elias said, squeezing my hand to where I could focus on that pain and not the other.

"It's okay." I had said through clenched teeth.

"You saved me." He cried.

"I know." I huffed.

"OH MY GODS! I WILL TAKE THE PAIN KILLER!" I yelled, the pain becoming overwhelming.

"Let me get it." Elias said, going to one of the doctors.

This is one of the moments I should be cherishing in life. My first child. Finding out who the father is. The gender, and all the hurrah. All I could focus on is who the father is.

"Here!" Elias shooved the ice into my mouth.

ICE?

"Okay you're ready now." The doctor said.

"Danny?" I asked.

"Thirty two minutes. Can you wait thirty two minutes?" The doctor asked. The answer was yeah I probably could did I want to? No.

"I can't I said, and the doctor nodded. I reached out to Ellis and took his hand in mine as he gave it a comfortable squeeze.

I hate birthing doctors. They are all "Push, Push IT'S A HEAD! Push!"

But I must admit it made me feel a little better when the doctor wiped off my baby and asked me if I wanted to hold her, while she was crying. I looked at Elias and nodded my head greedily, want to share with my brother our new family member.

"I have a baby girl." I whispered to him as I took my child in my arms, her head resting perfectly against me.

"Adorable." Elias said, reaching out to touch her tiny toes.

"I know." I said looking into her eyes.

Those beautiful eyes.

"We have to take her now." The doctor said.

"No." I smiled down at her. Lost in our first infinite moment.

"We have to run some test and put her under a light." The doctor stated.

"I'll get her back right?" I asked, playing with the little fingers she had, completely lost in her adorableness.

"Yess you will." He said.

"Okay." I said giving my baby a kiss on the forehead and sadly giving her to the doctor.

"What are you naming her?" Haylee asked, walking up behind Elias.

"Annabeth." I told her.

It took a lot of convincing to get Danny to agree with it. If she was a boy her name would be Augustus.

"Annabeth Aurora Schreave." I smiled, putting my head back on the pillow feeling tired.

I feel asleep instantly. It was amazing.

I dreamed of my life, my future and all the infinite moments I would have with them. As if my life was finally complete. I had nothing holding me back, no regrets, no guessing, no hope fullness about who the father was.

(TIME GAP TO DANNIELS ARRIVAL.)

"she is so adorable." My maids cooed as I held Annabeth, letting them see her for the first time.

"I want one." Haylee whined as she played with the tiny toes that Annabeth wiggled, so effortlessly.

"It's him." Cat said looking at the maids, I hadn't even heard the doors open and close, I was stuck in Annabeth's adorableness. Her soft white skin, her tiny ands and feet, the little pink blanket wrapped around her, the tiny nose that I just wanted to steal from her face and her large ears, her eyes. Those golden eyes speckled with gray. Blond hair she was going to have blonde hair for sure.

"Look like you're working." Cat said to them, as she pushed a glass of water in my face.

"Your majesty." Cat curtised.

"Cat." He smiled, and looked down at me.

"Is that?" He asked reaching down and holding onto my shoulder.

"Annabeth." I said looking up into his eyes. His brown and golden eyes.

"Do you want to hold her?" I asked him, his face spread into a grin as she shook his head yes and I handed Annabeth to him.

"Her." He smiled looking down at her, twisting his fingers in the blanket.

"We have a daughter." He smiled.

"We do." I said, looking up at him. The pride swelling up in his eyes, a small tear falling down them.

"She's mine isn't she?" He asked.

"Yes, Daniel. She is your daughter. There is no denying it." I smiled, as he took my hand into his and laid down beside me in the bed.

"Annabeth Marie Schreave." He smiled.

"Annabeth Aurora Screave." I corrected as he set her down in my arms and wrapped his around me.

"I love you." He whispered as I looked down at her and then at him.

"I love you too." I whispered to him. Giving him a soft kiss as I did so, a smile playing on his lips.

"She's my daughter." He whispered, holding me closer to him.

"I know."

**The end.**


	28. Chapter 28

**This is the Author.**

**Hi can you put your hand on the screen and pretend I am giving you a high five? Yeah? Awesomesauce because you deserve it. I thank everyone who has reviewed and read this. It is amazing that you all have, I love that you have survived ,y relentless feels and Aspen and Daniel. The evil Gregory's were hard to write, I don't know if I have ever met anyone like them or the king. Who if you haven't already read, I killed, I WAS SO HAPPY WHEN I DID THAT! I hope that you all enjoyed my story, I would love to write another one (review if I should) and I love that everyone who is reading this survived and read it all. Teresa was everywhere in the last couple of months. Thanks for dealing with her crazy.**

**Special thanks to Dakotamo for talking to me and telling me her real thoughts on the story.**

**Another special thanks to winterprincess for all the reviews and Awesomesauce attitude, I hope you like the ending.**

**But a thanks to all of you for reading, it is the best thing anyone could do for me.**

**The author,**

**The girl on the edge.**


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